Communication method, apparatus and system

Abstract

The embodiments of the present application relate to the technical field of communication. Disclosed are a communication method, apparatus and system, which help to reduce the pressure of a session management function network element processing requests regarding an edge application server. The method comprises: a session management function network element acquiring subscribed application information of a terminal device, wherein the application information comprises at least one of the following: a fully qualified domain name, an application identifier, and a data network access identifier; and the session management function network element selecting a target first network element on the basis of the application information, wherein the first network element is used for selecting a local user plane function network element and / or an edge application server.

Description

Communication method, device and system

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office on January 19, 2024, with application number 202410084308.2 and application name “Communication Methods, Devices and Systems”, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0002] The present application relates to the field of communication technologies, and in particular to communication methods, devices, and systems. Background Art

[0003] For some services with low latency and large bandwidth requirements, such as virtual reality (VR), cloud gaming, or industrial automation, deploying application services at the edge of the network can provide users with a better service experience. This application service deployed at the edge of the network can be called an edge application server (EAS).

[0004] Currently, requests from terminal devices for edge application services can be centrally processed by the session management function (SMF) network element. However, this centralized processing consumes a lot of network resources and is more suitable for scenarios with a small number of EASs. However, it is no longer suitable for scenarios with a large number of EASs. Therefore, how to reduce the cost of selecting EASs in scenarios with a large number of EASs is an unresolved problem. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The embodiments of the present application provide a communication method, device, and system, which can select a first network element to share the pressure of the session management function network element in selecting edge application services and / or local user plane function network elements, thereby reducing resource overhead.

[0006] The embodiments of this application adopt the following technical solutions:

[0007] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided. The method can be executed by a session management function network element, or by a component of the session management function network element (such as a processor, a chip, or a chip system, etc.), or by a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the session management function network element. The following is an illustration of the method using a session management function network element as an example. The method includes: the session management function network element obtains application information subscribed to by a terminal device, and the application information includes at least one of the following: a fully qualified domain name, an application identifier, or a data network access identifier. The session management function network element selects a target first network element based on the application information; wherein the first network element is used to select a local user plane function network element and / or an edge application service.

[0008] Here, selecting an edge application service may also be referred to as determining an edge application service. In some scenarios, selecting an edge application service may also be understood as reselecting an edge application service.

[0009] Based on the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application, the session management function network element can select a first network element based on the application information subscribed to by the terminal device, and the selected first network element can select a local user plane function network element and / or an edge application service. The embodiment of the present application not only provides a more fine-grained network element selection method, but also this method of distributed selection of local user plane function network elements and / or edge application services by the first network element can effectively alleviate the pressure of centralized processing of the session management function network element, and can also reduce resource overhead in scenarios where there are many edge application services and / or local user plane function network elements.

[0010] In one possible implementation, the session management function network element selects a target first network element based on application information, including: the session management function network element sends a first request message to the network storage function network element, the first request message including application information, the first request message being used to request the network storage function network element to select the target first network element. The session management function network element then receives a first response message from the network storage function network element in response to the first request message, the first response message including information about the target first network element.

[0011] This solution provides a specific method for selecting a target first network element.

[0012] In a possible implementation, the first request message also includes information about the first area, the information about the first area is used by the network storage function network element to select the target first network element, and the first area is related to the location of the terminal device.

[0013] Based on this solution, the network storage function network element can also refer to the information of the specific area to select the target first network element, and can select the target first network element suitable for selecting edge application services and / or local user plane function network elements for the terminal device.

[0014] In a possible implementation, the first request message further includes first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate that the network element requested to be selected is the first network element.

[0015] Based on this solution, the network storage function network element can be directly instructed to select the first network element through the first indication information.

[0016] In a possible implementation manner, the first request message includes second indication information, where the second indication information is used to indicate that the requested network service is selecting a user plane function network element, or establishing a session.

[0017] In a possible implementation, the session management function network element selects the target first network element according to the application information, including: the session management function network element selects the target first network element according to a mapping relationship between the locally configured application information and the first network element.

[0018] This solution provides a specific method for selecting a target first network element.

[0019] In one possible implementation, the session management function network element selects a target first network element based on the application information, including: the session management function network element determines a target data network access identifier and / or an IP address of a target edge application service based on the application information and deployment information of the edge application service; wherein the deployment information of the edge application service includes a correspondence between the application information and the data network access identifier and / or the IP address of the edge application service. The session management function network element selects the target first network element based on the target data network access identifier and / or the IP address of the target edge application service.

[0020] This solution provides a specific method for selecting a target first network element.

[0021] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: the session management function network element sending a second request message to the target first network element, where the second request message is used to request the target first network element to select a target edge application service and / or a target user plane function network element.

[0022] In a possible implementation manner, the second request message includes application information, and the application information is used by the target first network element to select a target edge application service and / or a target user plane function network element.

[0023] Based on this solution, the target first network element can refer to the application information to select the target edge application service and / or target user plane function network element, and can select a suitable target edge application service and / or target user plane function network element.

[0024] In a possible implementation, the application information further includes one or more of the following information: a delay requirement for transmission between the user plane function network element and the edge application service, or a load requirement for the user plane function network element.

[0025] Based on this solution, the target first network element can also refer to the delay factor and / or load factor to select the target edge application service and / or target user plane function network element, which can avoid selecting edge application services and / or user plane function network elements with excessive transmission delay or excessive load, which affects the user experience.

[0026] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: the session management function network element receiving a second response message for the second request message from the target first network element, where the second response message includes information of the target user plane function network element.

[0027] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: the session management function network element receiving a third request message from the access mobility management function network element, the third request message being used to request establishment of a session context, and the session management function network element determining to select the target first network element based on the third request message.

[0028] Based on this solution, the session management function network element can select a target first network element in the scenario of session establishment.

[0029] On the second aspect, a communication method is provided, which can be executed by an access mobility management function network element, or by a component of the access mobility management function network element (such as a processor, a chip, or a chip system, etc.), or by a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the access mobility management function network element. The following is an illustration using the access mobility management function network element as an example of the execution subject of the method, and the method includes: the access mobility management function network element receives a session establishment request message from a terminal device. The access mobility management function network element selects a target first network element based on a first parameter; the first network element is used to select an edge application service, and the first parameter includes one or more of the following information: a data network name, information about a slice associated with the application, and information about a first area, wherein the first area is related to the location of the terminal device.

[0030] Based on the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application, the access mobility management function network element can select the first network element based on the first parameter, and the selected first network element can select the local user plane function network element and / or the edge application service. The embodiment of the present application not only provides a more fine-grained network element selection method, but also this method of distributed selection of local user plane function network elements and / or edge application services by the first network element can effectively alleviate the pressure of centralized processing of the session management function network element, and can also reduce resource overhead in scenarios where there are many edge application services and / or local user plane function network elements.

[0031] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: the access mobility management function network element determining, based on the session establishment request message, a session management network element. The access mobility management function network element selecting, based on the first parameter, a target first network element, including: when the access mobility management function network element selects the session management network element based on the first parameter, selecting the target first network element.

[0032] Based on this solution, the access mobility management function network element can select the first network element in the scenario of session establishment.

[0033] On the third aspect, a communication method is provided, which can be executed by a second network element, or by a component of the second network element (such as a processor, a chip, or a chip system, etc.), or by a logic module or software that can realize all or part of the functions of the second network element. The following is an illustration of the second network element as the execution subject of the method, which includes: the second network element sends the deployment information of the edge application service to the first network element serving the second area; wherein the deployment information of the edge application service includes at least one of the following: a fully qualified domain name, an application identifier, an IP address of the edge application service, or a data network access identifier. The first network element is used to select the edge application service and / or the local user plane function network element.

[0034] Based on the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application, the deployment information of the edge application service can be provided to the first network element serving a specific area. Compared with the method of centrally providing the deployment information of the edge application service to the session management function network element, this distributed provision method can effectively alleviate the pressure of centralized processing of the session management function network element.

[0035] In one possible implementation, the second network element sends a fourth request message to the network storage function network element, the fourth request message being used to request discovery of a first network element serving the second area, the fourth request message including information indicating the second area. The second network element receives information about the first network element serving the second area from the network storage function network element. The second network element sends deployment information about the edge application service to the second network element serving the first area, including: the second network element sending the deployment information about the edge application service to the first network element serving the second area based on the information about the first network element serving the second area.

[0036] Based on this solution, the second network element can request the network storage function network element to discover the first network element serving the second area, and thus can send deployment information of the edge application service based on the feedback of the network storage function network element.

[0037] In one possible implementation, the fourth request message includes at least one of the following information: third indication information, or fourth indication information; wherein, the third indication information is used to indicate that the network element requested to be discovered is the first network element, and the fourth indication information is used to indicate that the requested service is deployment information for providing edge application services.

[0038] In a possible implementation, the method also includes: the second network element receives a fifth request message from the first network element, the fifth request message requests subscription to the deployment information of the edge application service; the second network element sends the deployment information of the edge application service to the first network element serving the second area, including: the second network element sends the deployment information of the edge application service to the first network element according to the fifth request message.

[0039] Based on this solution, the first network element serving a specific area can actively subscribe to the deployment information of the edge application service.

[0040] In one possible implementation, the fifth request message includes a second parameter, and the second parameter includes at least one of the following: a fully qualified domain name, an application identifier, or an IP address of the edge application service. The second network element sends the edge application service deployment information to the first network element serving the second area, including: the second network element sends the edge application service deployment information corresponding to the second parameter to the first network element according to the fifth request message.

[0041] Based on this solution, the first network element can request the second network element for deployment information of edge application services corresponding to specific parameters according to its own needs. Correspondingly, the second network element can provide targeted deployment information of edge application services to the first network element.

[0042] In a fourth aspect, a communication method is provided, which can be executed by an application function network element, or by a component of a first network element (such as a processor, a chip, or a chip system, etc.), or by a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the first network element. The following is an illustration of the method using the first network element as an example of the execution subject, and the method includes: the first network element sends a fifth request message to the second network element, and the fifth request message requests to subscribe to the deployment information of the edge application service. The first network element receives the deployment information of the edge application service from the second network element; wherein the deployment information of the edge application service includes at least one of the following: a fully qualified domain name, an application identifier, an IP address of the edge application service, or a data network access identifier.

[0043] Based on the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application, the first network element can actively subscribe to the deployment information of the edge application service. Compared with the method of centrally providing the deployment information of the edge application service to the session management function network element, this distributed provision method can effectively alleviate the pressure of centralized processing of the session management function network element.

[0044] In one possible implementation, the fifth request message includes a second parameter, and the second parameter includes at least one of the following: a fully qualified domain name, an application identifier, or an IP address of an edge application service. The first network element receives the deployment information of the edge application service from the second network element, including:

[0045] The first network element receives deployment information of the edge application service corresponding to the second parameter from the second network element.

[0046] Based on this solution, the first network element can request the second network element for deployment information of edge application services corresponding to specific parameters according to its own needs. Correspondingly, the second network element can provide the first network element with targeted deployment information of edge application services.

[0047] In a fifth aspect, a communication device is provided for implementing the various methods described above. The communication device includes modules, units, or means corresponding to the methods described above. The modules, units, or means may be implemented in 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.

[0048] In some possible designs, the communication device may include a transceiver module and a processing module. The transceiver module, which may also be referred to as a transceiver unit, is configured to implement the sending and / or receiving functions described in the first, second, third, or fourth 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 the first, second, third, or fourth aspects and any possible implementations thereof.

[0049] 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 the above-mentioned first aspect, second aspect, third aspect or fourth aspect and any possible implementation methods.

[0050] In a sixth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising: a processor and a communication interface; the communication interface is used to communicate with a module outside the communication device; the processor is used to execute a computer program or instruction so that the communication device executes any of the methods described above.

[0051] In a seventh 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. In one possible implementation, the memory may be coupled to the processor, or may be independent of the processor. In another possible implementation, the communication device further includes the memory. Optionally, the memory and the processor are integrated.

[0052] In aspects 5 to 7, the communication device may be the session management function network element in the first aspect or any implementation of the first aspect, or a device including the session management function network element, or a device included in the session management function network element, such as a chip. Alternatively, the communication device may be the access mobility management function network element in the second aspect or any implementation of the second aspect, or a device including the access mobility management function network element, or a device included in the access mobility management function network element, such as a chip. Alternatively, the communication device may be the second network element in the third aspect or any implementation of the third aspect, or a device including the second network element, or a device included in the second network element, such as a chip. Alternatively, the communication device may be the first network element in the fourth aspect or any implementation of the fourth aspect, or a device including the first network element, or a device included in the first network element, such as a chip or a chip system.

[0053] In an eighth 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.

[0054] In a ninth 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.

[0055] In a tenth aspect, a communication device is provided (for example, the communication device may be a chip or a chip system), which includes a processor for implementing the functions involved in any of the above aspects or any of its implementation methods.

[0056] In some possible designs, the communication device includes a memory for storing necessary program instructions and data.

[0057] In some possible designs, when the device is a chip system, it can be composed of a chip, or it can also include a chip and other discrete devices.

[0058] It can be understood that when the communication device provided in any one of the fifth to seventh 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.

[0059] Among them, the technical effects brought about by any implementation method of the fifth to tenth aspects can refer to the technical effects brought about by the corresponding implementation methods of the first to fourth aspects, and will not be repeated here.

[0060] It should be noted that various possible implementations of any of the above aspects can be combined under the premise that there is no contradiction between the solutions.

[0061] In an eleventh aspect, a communication system is provided, comprising a first network element and a second network element. The second network element is configured to send edge application service deployment information to the first network element, wherein the edge application service deployment information includes at least one of the following: a fully qualified domain name, an application identifier, an IP address of the edge application service, or a data network access identifier. The first network element is configured to receive the edge application service deployment information. The first network element is further configured to select an edge application service and / or a local user plane function network element.

[0062] In some possible designs, the first network element is also used to execute any implementation method of the fourth aspect above.

[0063] In some possible designs, the second network element is a network open function network element or an application function network element.

[0064] In some possible designs, the second network element is also used to execute any implementation method of the third aspect above.

[0065] In some possible designs, the communication system also includes a session management function network element, which is used to execute the method of any implementation manner of the above-mentioned first aspect.

[0066] In some possible designs, the communication system also includes an access mobility management function network element, which is used to execute any implementation method of the above-mentioned second aspect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0067] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system applicable to an embodiment of the present application;

[0068] FIG2 is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0069] FIG3 is an interactive diagram of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0070] FIG4 is an interactive diagram of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0071] FIG5 is a schematic diagram of a process of selecting an SRF network element in a session establishment process provided by an SMF network element according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0072] FIG6 is a schematic diagram of a process in which an AMF network element selects an I-SMF network element in a session establishment process according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0073] 7 is a schematic diagram of a process of selecting an I-SMF network element in a session establishment process provided by an SMF network element according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0074] FIG8 is a schematic diagram of a process of providing EAS deployment information to a first network element according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0075] FIG9 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0076] FIG10 is a schematic diagram of the structure of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0077] The embodiments of the present application provide communication methods, devices and systems. The following describes the specific implementation of the communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application. In the description of the embodiments of the present 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 the embodiments of the present application is only a description of the association relationship of the associated objects, indicating that there can be three relationships. 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. In addition, in the description of the present application, unless otherwise specified, "multiple" refers to 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, or c can represent: a, b, c, ab, ac, bc, or abc, where a, b, c can be single or multiple. In addition, in order to facilitate the clear description of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, in the embodiments of the present application, words such as "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 words such as "first" and "second" do not limit the quantity and execution order, and words such as "first" and "second" do not necessarily limit differences. At the same time, in the embodiments of the present application, words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to indicate examples, illustrations or explanations. Any embodiment or design described as "exemplary" or "for example" in the embodiments of the present application should not be interpreted as being more preferred or more advantageous than other embodiments or design schemes. Specifically, the use of words such as "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present related concepts in a concrete way for easy understanding.

[0078] In the embodiment of the present application, "indication" may include direct indication and indirect indication, and may also include explicit indication and implicit indication. The information indicated by a certain information is called information to be indicated. In the specific implementation process, there are many ways to indicate the information to be indicated, such as but not limited to, the information to be indicated can be directly indicated, such as the information to be indicated itself or the index of the information to be indicated. The information to be indicated can also be indirectly indicated by indicating other information, wherein there is an association relationship between the other information and the information to be indicated. It is also possible to indicate only a part of the information to be indicated, while the other parts of the information to be indicated are known or agreed in advance. For example, the indication of specific information can also be achieved by means of the arrangement order of each piece of information agreed in advance (such as specified in the protocol), thereby reducing the indication overhead to a certain extent. At the same time, the common parts of each piece of information can also be identified and indicated uniformly to reduce the indication overhead caused by indicating the same information separately.

[0079] It should be understood that the information to be indicated can be sent as a whole or divided into multiple sub-information and sent separately, and the sending period and / or sending time of these sub-information can be the same or different. The specific sending method is not limited in the embodiments of this application. The sending period and / or sending time of these sub-information can be predefined, for example, predefined according to a protocol, or can be configured by the transmitting device by sending configuration information to the receiving device.

[0080] In an embodiment of the present application, "pre-definition", "pre-defined", "pre-configured", "pre-configured" or "local configuration" can be implemented by pre-saving corresponding codes, tables or other methods that can be used to indicate relevant information in the device. For example, it can be burned into the device when the device leaves the factory, or configured when accessing the network for the first time. The embodiment of the present application does not limit its specific implementation method. Among them, "saving" can mean saving in one or more memories. The one or more memories can be set separately or integrated in an encoder or decoder, a processor, or a communication device. The one or more memories can also be partially set separately and partially integrated in a decoder, a processor, or a communication device. The type of memory can be any form of storage medium, which is not limited by the embodiment of the present application.

[0081] In the embodiments of the present application, descriptions such as "when...", "in the case of...", "if" and "if" all mean that the device will perform corresponding processing under certain objective circumstances. It does not limit the time, nor does it require the device to perform judgment actions when implemented, nor does it mean that there are other limitations.

[0082] In the embodiment of the present application, "sending information to... (taking the first network element as an example)" can be understood as the destination end of the information being the first network element. This can include sending information to the first network element directly or indirectly. "Receiving information from... (taking the first network element as an example)" can be understood as the source end of the information being the first network element, which can include receiving information from the first network element directly or indirectly. The information may be processed as necessary between the source end and the destination end of the information transmission, such as format changes, etc., but the destination end can understand the valid information from the source end. Similar expressions in the embodiments of the present application can be understood similarly and will not be repeated here.

[0083] The technical solutions provided in this application can be used in various communication systems, for example, long-term evolution (LTE) systems, fourth-generation (4G) mobile communication systems, fifth-generation (5G) mobile communication systems and their evolution systems, non-terrestrial networks (NTN) systems, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) systems, LTE and new radio (NR) hybrid networking systems, or device-to-device (D2D) systems, machine-to-machine (M2M) communication systems, Internet of Things (IoT), and future next-generation communication systems, such as sixth-generation (6G) mobile communication systems. In addition, the term "system" and "network" can be used interchangeably.

[0084] It should be noted that the network architecture and business scenarios described in the embodiments of the present application are intended to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application. Ordinary technicians in this field can know that with the evolution of network architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0085] It should be noted that the names of the network elements appearing in this document are only possible exemplary names. If the names actually used by the network elements in subsequent communication networks (such as 6G networks) are different from the names appearing in this document, it does not affect the application of the communication method provided in the embodiments of this application.

[0086] Taking the application of the embodiment of the present application to the 5G system as an example, 1A, 1B, 1C and 1D in Figure 1 are possible, non-limiting architecture diagrams of communication systems applicable to the embodiment of the present application. The communication system applicable to the embodiment of the present application includes terminal equipment, a core network (CN) and an access network (AN). Logically, the core network can be divided into two parts: the user plane and the control plane. The control plane is responsible for the management of the mobile network, and the user plane is responsible for the transmission of service data.

[0087] As shown in 1A, 1B, 1C, and 1D in Figure 1, in this communication system, the core network user plane function (UPF) network element, together with the access network network element (AN in Figure 1) and the terminal equipment, constitute the user plane network element of the 5G system (5GS). The core network control plane mainly includes the following network elements: access and mobility management function (AMF) network element, session management function (SMF) network element, network exposure function (NEF) network element, network repository function (NRF), policy control function (PCF) network element, application function (AF) network element, unified data management (UDM) network element, and edge application server discovery function (EASDF) network element.

[0088] As shown in 1A, 1B, 1C and 1D in Figure 1, the communication system may further include an EAS. The EAS may be deployed in a data network (DN), such as a local data network. Optionally, the EAS may be controlled by an operator or a third party. Exemplarily, the entity providing the EAS may be a server. For example, in a mobile edge computing (MEC) scenario, the EAS may be provided by an edge computing server, or in other words, the EAS may be deployed on an edge computing server.

[0089] In the embodiment of the present application, the server that provides EAS may also be referred to as an EAS server.

[0090] As shown in 1A, 1B, 1C and 1D of Figure 1 , the communication system may further include a first network element. The first network element may be used to determine / select / reselect an edge application service (EAS) and / or a user plane function network element.

[0091] Taking the session management function network element executing the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application as an example, a possible implementation of the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application may include: the session management function network element obtains application information signed by the terminal device, and the application information includes at least one of the following: a fully qualified domain name (FQDN), an application identity (App ID), or a data network access identifier (DNAI). The session management function network element selects a target first network element based on the application information. The specific implementation and technical effects of this solution will be described in detail in subsequent method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0092] In some possible scenarios, the user plane function network element determined / selected / reselected by the first network element may be referred to as a local user plane function network element (local UPF, LUPF). The local user plane function network element is a user plane function network element connected to an edge application service (deployed in a DN). When the application that the terminal device wishes to access has deployed an edge application service in a DN close to the local user plane function network element, or the network provides edge application services for the terminal device, a connection may be provided to the terminal device through the local user plane function network element.

[0093] For example, as shown in 1A, 1B, 1C and 1D in FIG1 , the UPF network element connected to the EAS may be referred to as a local UPF, ie, a LUPF network element, in this application.

[0094] It can be understood that the local user plane function network element is an exemplary name provided by the embodiment of the present application for the user plane function network element connected to the EAS. If the name actually used by the user plane function network element connected to the EAS in the communication system is not the local user plane function network element, it does not affect the application of the communication method provided by the embodiment of the present application. The first network element in the embodiment of the present application can still determine / select / reselect the user plane function network element connected to the EAS.

[0095] Optionally, the first network element may be a newly defined network element. For example, the first network element may be called a service routing function (SRF) network element, or a local session management function network element (local SMF, L-SMF). Alternatively, the first network element may be an existing network element. For example, the first network element may be an intermediate session management function network element (I-SMF). When the terminal device is located in an area not managed by a session management network element, the intermediate session management function network element may be inserted to locate a session management network element that supports the session.

[0096] Exemplarily, as shown in 1C in Figure 1, the first network element may be an I-SMF network element connected to the AMF network element. As shown in 1D in Figure 1, the first network element may be an I-SMF network element connected to the SMF network element.

[0097] In some possible architectures, the first network element may also manage local user plane function network elements and / or edge application services. For example, the first network element in 1A and 1B in Figure 1 (e.g., an SRF or L-SMF network element) and the I-SMF network element in 1C and 1D in Figure 1 may manage LUPF network elements and EAS.

[0098] It should be noted that 1A, 1B, 1C and 1D in Figure 1 are only illustrative examples of network elements or entities in the communication system. The communication system may also include some network elements or entities not shown in Figure 1, and the embodiments of the present application do not make specific limitations on this.

[0099] Among them, as shown in 1A in Figure 1, the terminal device accesses the network through the AN device, and the terminal device communicates with the AMF network element through the N1 interface (N1 for short); the AN device communicates with the AMF network element through the N2 interface (N2 for short); the AN device communicates with the UPF network element through the N3 interface (N3 for short); different UPF network elements communicate through the N9 interface (N9 for short); the entity providing EAS can communicate with the UPF network element through the N6 interface (N6 for short); the SMF network element can communicate with the first network element through the Nx interface; the first network element can communicate with the UPF network element through the Ny interface.

[0100] In a possible implementation, in FIG. 1 , the first network element in 1A may determine / select / reselect the EAS, and / or determine / select / reselect the UPF network element connected to the EAS.

[0101] As shown in 1B of Figure 1 , the terminal device accesses the network through the AN device, and the terminal device communicates with the AMF network element through N1; the AN device communicates with the AMF network element through N2; the AN device communicates with the ULCL / branchpoint (BP) UPF network element through N3; the PDU session anchor (PSA) UPF network element communicates with the DN through N6; different UPF network elements communicate with each other through N9; the entity providing EAS can communicate with the UPF network element through N6. The SMF network element can communicate with the first network element through the Nx interface; the first network element can communicate with the UPF network element through the Ny interface.

[0102] In a possible implementation, in FIG. 1 , the first network element in 1B may determine / select / reselect the EAS, and / or determine / select / reselect the UPF network element connected to the EAS.

[0103] As shown in 1C in Figure 1, the terminal device accesses the network through the AN device, and the terminal device communicates with the AMF network element through N1; the AN device communicates with the AMF network element through N2; the AN device communicates with the UL CL UPF network element or the BP UPF network element through N3; the AMF network element communicates with the I-SMF network element through the N11 interface (referred to as N11); the SMF network element communicates with the PSA1 UPF network element through the N4 interface (referred to as N4); the PSA1 UPF network element communicates with the DN through N6; the I-SMF network element can communicate with the SMF network element through the N16a interface (referred to as N16a); the I-SMF network element can communicate with the UL CL UPF network element and the PAS2 UPF network element through N4; different UPF network elements communicate with each other through N9; the entity providing EAS can communicate with the UPF network element through N6.

[0104] In one possible implementation, in FIG1 , the AMF network element in 1C may select an I-SMF network element (i.e., the I-SMF network element in 1C in FIG1 ) during session establishment or modification. The I-SMF network element may then determine / select / reselect the EAS and / or determine / select / reselect the UPF network element connected to the EAS.

[0105] As shown in 1D in Figure 1, the terminal device accesses the network through the AN device, and the terminal device communicates with the AMF network element through N1; the AN device communicates with the AMF network element through N2; the AN device communicates with the ULCL UPF network element or the BP UPF network element through N3; the AMF network element communicates with the SMF network element through N11; the SMF network element communicates with the PAS1 UPF network element and the UL CL UPF network element through N4; the PSA1 UPF network element communicates with the DN through N6; different UPF network elements can communicate through the N9 interface (abbreviated as N9); the I-SMF network element can communicate with the SMF network element through N16a or Nx; the I-SMF network element can communicate with the PSA2 UPF network element through N4 or Ny; the entity providing EAS can communicate with the UPF network element through N6.

[0106] In one possible implementation, in FIG1 , the AMF network element in 1D selects the SMF network element during session establishment or modification, and the SMF network element further selects the I-SMF network element (i.e., the I-SMF network element in 1D in FIG1 ). The I-SMF network element may then determine / select / reselect the EAS, and / or determine / select / reselect the UPF network element connected to the EAS.

[0107] In addition, the core network control plane network elements shown in Figure 1 interact using service-based interfaces. For example, the service-based interface provided by the AMF network element is Namf; the service-based interface provided by the SMF network element is Nsmf; the service-based interface provided by the NEF network element is Nnef; the service-based interface provided by the NRF network element is Nnrf; the service-based interface provided by the PCF network element is Npcf; the service-based interface provided by the UDM network element is Nudm; the service-based interface provided by the AF network element is Naf; and the service-based interface provided by the EASDF network element is Nasdf. For relevant functional and interface descriptions, please refer to existing standards and are not detailed here.

[0108] All or part of the functions of the network element or device in the embodiments of the present application may also be implemented by software functions running on hardware, or by virtualization functions instantiated on a platform (e.g., a cloud platform). The network element in the embodiments of the present application may also be a logical node, logical module, or software that can implement all or part of the network element functions.

[0109] Access network equipment, also known as AN entity or access node, constitutes part of the communication system and is used to help terminal devices access the network. In one possible scenario, the access network equipment can be a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), an access point (AP), a transmission reception point (TRP), a next-generation nodeB (gNB), a next-generation base station in a 6G mobile communication system, a base station in a future mobile communication system, or an access node in a wireless fidelity (WiFi) system. The access network equipment can be a macro base station, a micro base station or an indoor station, a relay node or a donor node, or a wireless controller in a cloud-radio access network (C-RAN) scenario. Optionally, the access network equipment can also be a server, a wearable device, a vehicle or an on-board device. For example, the access network equipment in V2X technology can be a road side unit (RSU).

[0110] In another possible scenario, multiple access network devices collaborate to assist the terminal device in achieving access, and different access network devices respectively implement part of the functions of the base station. For example, the access network device can 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 can be set separately, or they can be included in the same network element, such as a baseband unit (BBU). The RU can be included in a radio frequency device or a radio frequency unit, such as a remote radio unit (RRU), an active antenna unit (AAU), or a remote radio head (RRH).

[0111] 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, in an open radio access network (open RAN, O-RAN), CU may also be called O-CU (open CU), DU may also be called O-DU, CU-CP may also be called O-CU-CP, CU-UP may also be called O-CU-UP, and RU may also be called O-RU. For the convenience of description, the embodiments of the present application are described by taking CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, DU and RU as examples. Any of the CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU and RU in the embodiments of the present application may be implemented by a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module.

[0112] Terminal devices may also be referred to as terminals, user equipment (UE), mobile stations, mobile terminals, etc. Terminal devices can be widely used in various scenarios, such as D2D, V2X communication, machine-type communication (MTC), Internet of Things, virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), industrial control, self-driving, remote medical, smart grid, smart furniture, smart office, smart wearable, smart transportation or smart city, etc. Terminal devices can be mobile phones, tablet computers, computers with wireless transceiver functions, wearable devices, vehicles, drones, helicopters, airplanes, ships, robots, robotic arms, smart home devices, etc. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the device form of the terminal device.

[0113] The communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application is described below in conjunction with the architecture of the communication system shown in FIG1 .

[0114] It can be understood that in the following embodiments of the present application, the names of each network element, the names of messages exchanged between each network element, the names of each parameter, or the names of each information are only examples. In other embodiments, they may also be other names, and the method provided in this application does not make specific limitations on this.

[0115] It is understood that in the following embodiments of the present application, each parameter may include one or more specific values. Taking DNAI as an example, DNAI(s) may represent one or more DNAIs.

[0116] It is understood that in the embodiments of the present application, each network element or entity may perform some or all of the steps in the embodiments of the present application. These steps or operations are merely examples, and the embodiments of the present application may also perform other operations or variations of various operations. In addition, the steps may be performed in a different order than those presented in the embodiments of the present application, and it is possible that not all operations in the embodiments of the present application need to be performed.

[0117] As shown in Figure 2, a communication method is provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 2 illustrates the method by taking a session management network element as an example of the execution subject of the process, but the present application does not limit the execution subject of the process. For example, the session management function network element in Figure 2 may also be a module applied to the session management function network element, such as a chip, a chip system, or a processor, or may be a logical node, a logical module, or software that can implement all or part of the first network element function.

[0118] Referring to FIG. 2 , the communication method includes steps S201-S202:

[0119] S201. The session management function network element obtains application information subscribed by the terminal device, where the application information includes at least one of the following: a fully qualified domain name (FQDN), an application identifier (App ID), or a data network access identifier (DNAI).

[0120] S202. The session management function network element determines a target first network element according to the application information; wherein the first network element is used to determine a local user plane function network element or an edge application service.

[0121] In the embodiments of the present application, "target ... (taking the target first network element as an example)" can be understood as a first network element for actual application determined from at least one first network element. Accordingly, the at least one first network element can be understood as a candidate (or alternative) for the target first network element. Similar expressions in the following embodiments, such as "target edge application service" or "target user plane function network element", etc., can also be understood in this manner.

[0122] In the embodiments of the present application, in some scenarios, the first network element is used to determine the local user plane function network element or edge application service, which can also be understood as selecting a local user plane function network element or edge application service. For example, during the process of establishing a session, there are multiple candidate local user plane function network elements or edge application services, and the first network element needs to select a local user plane function network element or edge application service from them. In some scenarios, the first network element is used to determine the local user plane function network element or edge application service, which can also be understood as reselecting the local user plane function network element or edge application service. For example, after the session is established, the first network element triggers the reselection of the local user plane function network element or edge application service to replace the original local user plane function network element or edge application service.

[0123] Similarly, in some scenarios, for example, during session establishment, the session management network element determining the target first network element can also be understood as selecting the target first network element. In some scenarios, for example, after session establishment is complete, the session management network element determining the target first network element can also be understood as reselecting the target first network element. The following embodiments are described using the example of a session management function network element selecting the target first network element based on application information.

[0124] Based on the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application, the session management function network element can select the first network element according to the application information signed by the terminal device, which not only provides a more fine-grained network element selection method, but also the determined first network element can be responsible for determining the local user plane function network element or edge application service, effectively alleviating the pressure of the session management function network element to centrally process the terminal device's request for edge application service. In scenarios with a large number of edge application services and / or local user plane function network elements, resource overhead can also be reduced.

[0125] The following is an introduction to S201 and S202.

[0126] In S201, the embodiment of the present application does not limit the manner in which the session management function obtains the application information subscribed to by the terminal device. In one possible implementation, the session management function network element may obtain the application information from the unified data management network element. For example, the session management function network element may request the subscription information of the terminal device from the unified data management network element. The unified data management network element sends the subscription information of the terminal device to the session management function network element in response to the request from the session management function network element. The session management function network element receives the subscription information of the terminal device from the unified data management network element, where the subscription information includes application information.

[0127] Optionally, the contract information of the terminal device may also include at least one of the following: data network name (DNN), single network slice selection assistance information (S-NSSAI) and other information.

[0128] In S202, the embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific implementation of the session management function determining the target first network element according to the application information. The following introduces several possible implementations provided by the embodiment of the present application.

[0129] In one possible implementation, the session management function network element sends a first request message to the network storage function network element. The first request message includes application information and is used to request the network storage function network element to select a target first network element. After receiving the first request message, the network storage function network element selects a target first network element based on the application information in the message. The network storage function network element includes the target first network element information in a first response message to the first request message and sends the message to the session management function network element. The session management function network element receives the first response message and selects a target first network element based on the target first network element information in the response message.

[0130] Exemplarily, the information of the target first network element may include at least one of the following: address information of the target first network element, a port number of the target first network element, or an identifier of the target first network element.

[0131] Optionally, in this implementation, the first request message may further include information about the first area. The network storage function network element may select the target first network element based on the information about the first area and the application information. The first area is related to the location of the terminal device. For example, the information about the first area may include at least one of the following: the tracking area (TA) where the terminal device is currently located, the TA list (TAlist) to which the TA where the terminal device is currently located belongs, the adjacent TAs of the TA where the terminal device is currently located, the TA list to which the adjacent TAs of the TA where the terminal device is currently located belong, etc. For another example, the information about the first area may include information indicating the latitude and longitude of the terminal device and other information representing the geographical range.

[0132] For this implementation, how the network storage function network element selects the target first network element based on the information of the first area and the application information, optionally, if the information of the first area has a priority, for example, the information of the first area includes a TA list to which the TA to which the terminal device is currently located belongs, wherein each TA in the TA list has a corresponding priority, the network storage function network element can match the first network element in descending order according to the application information and the priority of the information of the first area.

[0133] Optionally, in this implementation, the first request message may further include first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate that the network element requested to be selected is the first network element. It can also be understood that the first indication information is used to indicate the type of the network element requested to be selected. For example, if the first network element is an SRF network element, the first indication information may indicate that the type of the destination NF is SRF.

[0134] Optionally, in this implementation, the first request message may further include second indication information, where the second indication information is used to indicate that the requested network service is for selecting a user plane function service, or for establishing a session service. The network storage function network element may determine the need to select the target first network element based on the second indication information. Exemplarily, the second indication information may be represented in the form of a string, for example, the second indication information may be represented as: the destination NFS name is Nsrf_lupfselect / Nsmf_pdusession, etc.

[0135] Optionally, in this implementation, the first request message may further include at least one of the following: DNN, or S-NSSAI. The network storage function network element may select the target first network element according to the application information and the DNN, or S-NSSAI.

[0136] In another possible implementation, the session management function network element may determine, based on the mapping relationship between the application information and the first network element, the first network element corresponding to the application information obtained in S201 as the target first network element. Optionally, the mapping relationship between the application information and the first network element may include information such as identifiers, names, or specific values ​​of various parameters included in the application information, and information about the first network element, such as the identifier, name, or address information of the first network element. Similar expressions hereinafter may be understood in this manner.

[0137] Optionally, the mapping relationship between the application information and the first network element may be locally configured by the session management network element, or may be obtained by the session management network element from other network elements.

[0138] The embodiment of the present application does not limit the representation of the mapping relationship between the application information and the first network element. For example, the mapping relationship between the application information and the first network element can be represented in the form of a list.

[0139] For example, assuming that the first network element is an SRF network element, the SMF network element can locally configure the following mapping relationship: SRF1: DNAI01, DNAI02 (i.e., SRF1 corresponds to DNAI01 and DNAI02), SRF2: DNAI11, DNAI12 (i.e., SRF2 corresponds to DNAI11 and DNAI12). If the application information obtained by the SMF network element includes DNAI01, the SMF network element can determine that the SRF1 corresponding to DNAI01 is the target first network element based on the above mapping relationship. It should be understood that when the first network element is other network elements, such as L-SMF or I-SMF network elements, or when the application information includes other parameters, such as FQDN or App ID, the mapping relationship in the above example also applies.

[0140] In another possible implementation, the session management function network element can determine the information of the first area corresponding to the application information obtained in S201 based on the mapping relationship between the application information (for example, the identifier, name or specific value of each parameter included in the application information), the information of the first area (for example, the identifier of the first area, the longitude and latitude of the first area, etc.) and the first network element (for example, the identifier, name or address information of the first network element, etc.), and further determine the target first network element based on the corresponding first area information.

[0141] Optionally, the mapping relationship between the application information, the information of the first area and the first network element may be locally configured by the session management network element, or may be obtained by the session management network element from other network elements.

[0142] The embodiment of the present application does not limit the representation of the mapping relationship between the application information and the first network element. For example, the mapping relationship between the application information and the first network element can be represented in the form of a list.

[0143] For example, assuming that the first network element is an SRF network element, the SMF network element can be configured with the following correspondence: SRF1: TA01, TA02 (DNAI1) (i.e., SRF1 corresponds to TA01 and TA02, and TA01 and TA02 correspond to DNAI1), SRF2: TA11, TA12 (DNAI2) (i.e., SRF2 corresponds to TA11 and TA12, and TA11 and TA12 correspond to DNAI2). If the application information obtained by the SMF network element is DNAI2, the SMF network element can determine that DNAI2 corresponds to TA11 and TA12 based on the above mapping relationship, and further determine that the SRF2 corresponding to TA11 and TA12 is the target first network element. It should be understood that when the first network element is other network elements, such as L-SMF or I-SMF network elements, or when the application information includes other parameters, such as FQDN or App ID, the mapping relationship in the above example also applies.

[0144] In another possible implementation, the session management function network element may obtain deployment information of the edge application service (hereinafter referred to as EAS deployment information). The EAS deployment information may include at least one of the FQDN or APP ID, and at least one of the following information: DNAI, EAS IP (optionally, the EAS IP may correspond to the DNAI), or domain name server (DNS) (optionally, the DNS may correspond to the DNAI). The information included in the EAS deployment information may correspond to each other, for example, the FQDN / APP ID may correspond to the DNAI. After obtaining the application information in S201, the session management network element may search the EAS deployment information for information corresponding to the obtained application information, and determine the target first network element based on the found information (or, match the application information with the EAS deployment information, and based on the matched information). In this implementation, the information found by the session management function network element in the EAS deployment information can also be called target information. For example, if the EAS deployment information includes DNAI or EAS IP, the DNAI found by the session management function network element in the EAS deployment information can be called target DNAI, and the found EAS IP can be called target EAS IP.

[0145] Among them, the EAS deployment information can be obtained by the session management function network element from other network elements, for example, it can be obtained from the application function network element, or it can be locally configured by the session management network element. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific implementation of the session management function obtaining the EAS deployment information.

[0146] For example, if the application information obtained by the SMF network element includes FQDN / APP ID, the SMF network element can search for information corresponding to the FQDN / APP ID in the EAS deployment information. If the EAS deployment information includes DNAI, the SMF network element can determine the target first network element based on the target DNAI found (for example, the target first network element can be determined based on the mapping relationship between the locally configured DNAI and the first network element, etc., and the embodiments of the present application do not impose specific restrictions on this). If the EAS deployment information includes EAS IP, the SMF network element can determine the target first network element based on the target EAS IP found (for example, the target first network element can be determined based on the mapping relationship between the locally configured EAS IP and the first network element, and for example, the first network element of the EAS corresponding to the management EAS IP can be determined as the target first network element, and for example, the first network element closest to the EAS corresponding to the EAS IP can be determined as the target first network element, and so on, and the embodiments of the present application do not impose specific restrictions on this). If the EAS deployment information includes DNS, the SMF network element can determine the target first network element based on the found target DNS (for example, the target first network element can be determined based on the mapping relationship between the locally configured DNS and the first network element, for example, the first network element that manages the EAS corresponding to the EAS IP can be determined as the target first network element, for example, the first network element closest to the EAS corresponding to the EAS IP can be determined as the target first network element, etc., and the embodiments of the present application do not impose specific restrictions on this).

[0147] Optionally, the EAS deployment information may also include other information, such as the data network name (DNN), information about the slice associated with the application, and other information.

[0148] Optionally, after the session management network element selects the target first network element, the target first network element may select a target edge application service and / or a target user plane function network element (the target user plane function network element may be a local user plane function network element).

[0149] In one possible implementation, the session management function network element sends a second request message to the target first network element, where the second request message is used to request the target first network element to select a target edge application service and / or a target user plane function network element. After receiving the second request message, the target first network element selects the target edge application service and / or the target user plane function network element.

[0150] Optionally, the second request message may include application information, and the target first network element may determine (or select or reselect, with selection being used as an example below) the target edge application service and / or target user plane function network element based on the application information.

[0151] The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific implementation of the target first network element selecting the target edge application service and / or the target user plane function network element based on the application information. For example, the first network element can match the FQDN(s), App ID and EAS deployment information to determine the IP address of the target EAS or the DNAI corresponding to the target EAS. For another example, the first network element can select the user plane function network element connected to the target EAS as the target user plane function network element based on the determined target EAS information.

[0152] Among them, optionally, the first network element can obtain EAS deployment information from other network elements, for example, it can be obtained from the application function network element, or the first network element can locally configure EAS deployment information. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific implementation of the first network element obtaining EAS deployment information.

[0153] Optionally, the application information may also include one or more of the following information: a delay requirement for transmission between the user plane function network element and the edge application service, or a load requirement for the user plane function network element. Among them, the delay requirement for transmission between the user plane function network element and the edge application service may include a threshold value. In this case, the delay for transmission between the selected target user plane function network element and the target edge application service shall not exceed the threshold value. Alternatively, the delay requirement for transmission between the user plane function network element and the edge application service may indicate the selection of the user plane function network element with the smallest transmission delay between the user plane function network element and the edge application service as the target user plane function network element and the target edge application service. Similarly, the load requirement for the user plane function network element may include a threshold value. The load of the selected target user plane function network element shall not exceed the threshold value. Alternatively, it may indicate the selection of the user plane function network element with the smallest load.

[0154] The above one or more pieces of information may also be referred to as preferred parameters. The target first network element may select a target edge application service and / or a target user plane function network element that meets the preferred parameters based on the preferred parameters.

[0155] For example, assuming that the application information includes a transmission delay requirement between the user plane function network element and the edge application service, the target first network element can select a user plane function network element and an edge application service that meet the delay requirements as the target edge application service and target user plane function network element. If the application information includes a load requirement for the user plane function network element, the target first network element can select a user plane function network element that meets the load requirement as the target user plane function network element. Furthermore, the target first network element can also select an edge application service that is closest to the target user plane function network element or has the lowest transmission delay as the target edge application service.

[0156] Optionally, after the target first network element selects the target edge application service and / or the target user plane function network element, it may send a second response message to the session management function network element for the second request message. Accordingly, the session management function network element receives the second response message, wherein the second response message includes information about the target edge application service and / or the target user plane function network element, such as the IP address of the target edge application service, the core network tunnel information (CN tunnel info) of the target user plane function network element, the UE IP allocated by the intermediate user plane function network element (localUPF, I-UPF), etc.

[0157] Optionally, S201-S202 can be applied to a session establishment scenario, such as a PDU session establishment scenario. In this scenario, the session management function network element selects the target first network element, which can be triggered by the access mobility management function network element. For example, before S201, the following steps can be included:

[0158] The access mobility management function network element sends a third request message to the session management function network element. The session management function network element receives the third request message from the access mobility management function network element. The third request message is used to request establishment of a session context (e.g., a PDU session context). The third request message triggers the session management network element to select a target first network element. In other words, the session management function network element determines to select the target first network element based on the third request message.

[0159] Optionally, if S201-S202 is applied to a session establishment scenario, in S202, the second request message sent by the session management network element to the target first network element may be a session establishment request message (e.g., a PDU session establishment request message), or may be a local user plane function network element selection request message, used to request selection of a local user plane function network element.

[0160] In addition, an embodiment of the present application also provides another method for selecting a target first network element by an access mobility management network element. FIG3 illustrates the method by taking a terminal device and an access mobility management function network element as an example of the execution subject of the interaction diagram, but the present application does not limit the execution subject of the interaction diagram. For example, the access mobility management function network element in FIG3 may also be a module such as a chip, a chip system, or a processor applied to the access mobility management function network element, or may be a logical node, a logical module, or software that can realize all or part of the functions of the access mobility management function network element; the terminal device in FIG3 may also be a module such as a chip, a chip system, or a processor applied to the terminal device, or may be a logical node, a logical module, or software that can realize all or part of the functions of the terminal device.

[0161] As shown in FIG3 , the communication method includes the following steps:

[0162] S301: A terminal device sends a session establishment request message to an access mobility management function network element. Correspondingly, the access mobility management function network element receives the session establishment request message from the terminal device.

[0163] S302. The access mobility management function network element determines (or selects or reselects, with selection being used as an example below) a target first network element based on the first parameter. The first network element is used to determine (or select or reselect, with selection being used as an example below) an edge application service or a local user plane function network element. The first parameter includes one or more of the following information: information about a first area, a data network name, or information about a slice associated with the application. The first area is related to the location of the terminal device.

[0164] The following is an introduction to S301 and S302.

[0165] S301 and S302 can be applied to a session establishment scenario, such as a PDU session establishment scenario.

[0166] In S301 , the information of the first area can be specifically described above and will not be expanded here.

[0167] In S301, the session establishment request message of the terminal device can trigger the access mobility management function network element to select the first network element.

[0168] In a possible scenario, the access mobility management function network element may select an intermediate session management network element, that is, a target first network element, when determining a session management network element according to the session establishment request message.

[0169] In S302, the access mobility management network element may locally configure the first parameter, or the access mobility management network element may obtain the first parameter from other network elements. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific implementation of the access mobility management network element obtaining the first parameter.

[0170] The embodiments of the present application do not limit the manner in which the access mobility management function network element selects the target first network element based on the first parameter. For example, the access mobility management network element may determine the target first network element based on the mapping relationship between the first parameter and the first network element. For this manner, reference may be made to the above description of the session management network element determining the target first network element. For another example, the access mobility management network element may query the unified data management network element for the target first network element corresponding to the first parameter.

[0171] Optionally, the target first network element may obtain application information subscribed to by the terminal device, and the application information includes at least one of the following: FQDN, or App ID, or DNAI. For details, please refer to the above introduction. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific implementation of the target first network element obtaining the subscription information. For example, the target first network element may obtain the application information from the unified data management network element. Alternatively, the target first network element may obtain the application information from the session management function network element. For example, the session management function network element first obtains the application information, and then sends the application information to the target first network element in the response PDU session process. The response PDU session process includes: the target first network element sends a PDU session establishment request message to the session management function network element, and after receiving the PDU session establishment request message, the session management function network element sends a response message to the target first network element for the PDU session establishment request message, and the response message includes application information.

[0172] Furthermore, the target first network element may select (or select or reselect) a target edge application service and / or a target user plane function network element based on the application information. Optionally, the target first network element may also send the target edge application service and / or target user plane function network element to the session management function network element. For details, please refer to the above description and will not be elaborated here.

[0173] In addition, an embodiment of the present application also provides a method for providing deployment information of edge application services (hereinafter referred to as EAS deployment information) to a first network element serving a specific area. FIG4 illustrates the method by taking the second network element and the first network element (optionally, a network storage function network element) as the execution subjects of the interaction diagram as an example, but the present application does not limit the execution subjects of the interaction diagram. For example, the first network element in FIG4 may also be a module such as a chip, a chip system, or a processor applied to the first network element, or a logical node, a logical module, or software that can realize all or part of the functions of the first network element; the second network element in FIG4 may also be a module such as a chip, a chip system, or a processor applied to the second network element, or a logical node, a logical module, or software that can realize all or part of the functions of the second network element; the network storage function network element in FIG4 may also be a module such as a chip, a chip system, or a processor applied to the network storage function network element, or a logical node, a logical module, or software that can realize all or part of the functions of the network storage function network element.

[0174] Optionally, the method shown in FIG4 can be applied when the application is online. In this scenario, the second network element can provide the EAS deployment information to the first network element through the service interface for creating / updating / deleting EAS deployment information. As shown in FIG4, the method includes the following steps:

[0175] S401. The second network element sends EAS deployment information to the first network element serving the second area; wherein the EAS deployment information includes at least one of the following: a fully qualified domain name (FQDN), an application identifier (APP ID), an IP address of an edge application service (EAS IP), or a data network access identifier (DNAI).

[0176] The second network element is another network element different from the first network element. Exemplarily, the second network element may be an application function network element, a network open function network element, or a local network open function (localNEF, L-NEF) network element.

[0177] Among them, the first network element is used to select edge application services and / or local user plane function network elements. For details, please refer to the above introduction and will not be expanded here.

[0178] The number of the first network elements serving the first area may be one or more.

[0179] Optionally, the EAS deployment information may also include other information, such as the data network name (DNN), information about the slice associated with the application, DNS server, and other information.

[0180] In the embodiment of the present application, the second network element sends the deployment information of the edge application service to the first network element serving the second area. There are many ways to implement this, which are described in detail below.

[0181] In a possible implementation, as shown in 4a in FIG4 , before S401 , the following steps may be included:

[0182] S400: A first network element serving a second area sends a fifth request message to a second network element, where the fifth request message requests subscription to deployment information of an edge application service.

[0183] Correspondingly, after receiving the fifth request message, the second network element may send the deployment information of the edge application service to the first network element in response to the fifth request message.

[0184] If the second network element is a network open function network element or a local network open function network element, the second network element may obtain EAS deployment information from the application function network element. If the second network element is an application function network element, the second network element may obtain EAS deployment information from a third party or an operator.

[0185] Optionally, in addition to the network open function network element or the local network open function network element, the application function network element may also store the EAS deployment information in a unified data repository (UDR) function network element.

[0186] Optionally, the fifth request message may include a specific second parameter (for example, a second parameter supported by the first network element serving the second area), where the second parameter includes at least one of the following: FQDN, APP ID, or EAS IP. In this case, after receiving the fifth request message, the second network element may determine the EAS deployment information corresponding to the specific second parameter based on the specific second parameter carried therein, and send the EAS deployment information to the first network element.

[0187] For example, assuming that in the fifth request message, the second parameter includes FQDN1, the EAS deployment information corresponding to FQDN1 sent by the second network element to the first network element may include one or more of the following: FQDN1, APP ID corresponding to FQDN1, EAS IP, DNAI, DNN, or slice information.

[0188] In another possible implementation, as shown in 4 b of FIG. 4 , before S401 , the following steps may be included:

[0189] S402. After obtaining the EAS deployment information, the second network element may send a fourth request message to the network storage function network element, where the fourth request message is used to request discovery of the first network element serving the second area, wherein the fourth request message includes information indicating the second area.

[0190] If the second network element is a network open function network element or a local network open function network element, the second network element may obtain EAS deployment information from the application function network element. If the second network element is an application function network element, the second network element may obtain EAS deployment information from a third party or an operator.

[0191] The embodiment of the present application does not limit how the second network element determines the second area. For example, the area where the second network element expects to send EAS deployment information may be the second area.

[0192] The embodiment of the present application does not impose any specific restrictions on the second area. For example, the information indicating the second area may indicate TA, TAlist, longitude and latitude, etc.

[0193] Exemplarily, the information indicating the second area may be represented in the form of a character string. For example, the information indicating the second area may be a service area identifier (ServiceArea ID), where the second area is the ServiceArea.

[0194] Accordingly, after receiving the fourth request message, the network storage function network element can discover the first network element serving the second area based on the fourth request message. Furthermore, the network storage function network element sends information about the first network element serving the second area, such as an IP address or port number, to the second network element. Thus, based on the information about the first network element serving the second area, the second network element can send edge application service deployment information to the first network element serving the second area.

[0195] Optionally, in this implementation, the fourth request message may further include at least one of the following information: third indication information, or fourth indication information. The third indication information is used to indicate that the network element requested to be discovered is the first network element, or in other words, to indicate the type of network element requested to be discovered. Exemplarily, if the first network element is an SRF, the third indication information may indicate that the target NF is an SRF. The fourth indication information is used to indicate that the requested service is to provide EAS deployment information. Exemplarily, the fourth indication information may be represented in the form of a string, for example, the fourth indication information may be represented as: the target NFS name is Nnef_easdeployment.

[0196] Optionally, the embodiment shown in FIG. 2 or the embodiment shown in FIG. 3 can be applied independently of the embodiment shown in FIG. 4 , or they can be applied in combination. In a scenario where the embodiment shown in FIG. 2 or the embodiment shown in FIG. 3 is applied in combination with the embodiment shown in FIG. 4 , the target first network element determined by the session management function network element or the access mobility management function network element can obtain EAS deployment information using the method provided in the embodiment shown in FIG. 4 Furthermore, the target first network element can determine the target edge application service and / or target user plane function network element based on the obtained EAS deployment information and application information.

[0197] The following assumes that the terminal device is UE, the first network element is SRF network element (it should be understood that when the first network element is other network elements, such as L-SMF or I-SMF, the following process is also applicable), the session management function network element is SMF network element, the access mobility management function network element is AMF network element, the network open function network element is NEF network element, the application function network element is AF network element, the unified data management network element is UDM network element, the network storage function network element is NRF network element, the target user plane function network element is the target L-UPF, and the target edge application service is the target EAS. In the above embodiment, the possible process of the session management function network element determining the target first network element based on the application information is introduced.

[0198] Assuming that a target first network element is determined in a session establishment scenario, as shown in FIG5 , a possible process may include the following steps:

[0199] S501. The UE sends a session establishment request message to the AMF network element to initiate session establishment, for example, to initiate the establishment of a PDU session.

[0200] S502. The AMF network element selects the SMF network element based on at least one of the following information: DNN / slice, public land mobile network (PLMN), TA list information, etc.

[0201] S503. The AMF network element requests the selected SMF network element to create a session management (SM) context.

[0202] S504: The SMF network element requests the UDM network element for the UE's subscription information. The UDM network element then responds with the UE's subscription information, which includes information such as the DNN, SNSSAI, and the UE's subscribed application information. The application information includes at least one of the following: FQDN(s) or APP ID.

[0203] Optionally, the application information may further include preferred parameters, where the preferred parameters include at least one of the following: a delay requirement for transmission between the LUPF and the EAS, or a load requirement for the LUPF.

[0204] S505. The SMF network element sends a response message to the AMF network element regarding the request to create an SM context.

[0205] S506. The SMF network element selects the SRF network element according to the application information.

[0206] Among them, the SMF network element can select the SRF network element through S506a:

[0207] S506a, the SMF network element selects the SRF network element corresponding to the application information obtained in S504 in the mapping relationship based on the mapping relationship between the locally configured SRF network element and the application information.

[0208] For details of S506a, please refer to the above description of S202, where the session management function network element determines the first network element corresponding to the obtained application information as the target first network element based on the mapping relationship between the application information and the first network element, which will not be elaborated here.

[0209] Alternatively, the SMF network element may select the SRF network element by the method of S506b, wherein the method of S506b includes the following steps:

[0210] The SMF network element requests the NRF network element to discover the SRF network element. The request message includes the target NF type as SRF, the target NFS name as Nsrf_lupfselect / Nsmf_pdusession, and application information, i.e., at least one of the following: FQDN(s), AppID, or preferred parameters. Optionally, the request message may also include at least one of the following: DNN, SNSSAI, or first area information.

[0211] After receiving the request message, the NRF network element selects the SRF network element according to the request message and feeds back the information of the selected SRF network element to the SMF network element. After receiving the information fed back by the NRF network element, the SMF network element selects the SRF network element fed back by the NRF network element.

[0212] For details of S506b, please refer to the above introduction to the following scheme in S202: the session management function network element sends a first request message to the network storage function network element. After receiving the first request message, the network storage function network element selects the target first network element based on the application information therein, and carries the information of the target first network element in the first response message to the first request message and sends it to the session management function network element. The session management function network element selects the target first network element based on the first response message.

[0213] S507: The SMF network element sends a session establishment request or LUPF selection request to the selected SRF network element, which carries application information as a reference for the SRF network element to select a target LUPF and / or target EAS. The following is an example of the SRF network element selecting a target LUPF and target EAS.

[0214] S508. The SRF network element determines the target EAS and target LUPF network element according to the application information.

[0215] For example, the SRF network element can match the FQDN and App ID in the application information with the obtained EAS deployment information to determine the IP address of the target EAS. Alternatively, the SRF network element can determine the IP address of the target EAS based on the correspondence between the locally configured FQDN(s), AppID and EAS IP, as well as the FQDN and App ID in the application information.

[0216] For example, the SRF network element can determine the DNAI corresponding to the FQDN(s) / App ID in the EAS deployment information based on the FQDN(s) / App ID in the application information and the obtained EAS deployment information, and further determine the LUPF network element corresponding to the DNAI as the target LUPF network element. Optionally, if the DNAI corresponds to multiple LUPF network elements, the SRF network element can select the target LUPF network element based on the preferred parameters, such as the load requirement for the LUPF or the delay requirement between the LUPF and EAS.

[0217] For details of S508 , reference may be made to the above description of S202 , in which the target first network element selects a target edge application service and / or a target user plane function network element according to the application information.

[0218] S509. The SRF network element sends a response message to the SMF network element for the PDU session establishment request or LUPF selection request, which carries the selected target LUPF information, such as CN tunnel info and UE IP allocated by iupf.

[0219] S510. The SMF network element establishes a user plane channel between the target LUPF network element and the UE.

[0220] S511. A channel is established between the target EAS and the target LUPF network element.

[0221] The following assumes that the terminal device is UE, the first network element is I-SMF network element (it should be understood that when the first network element is other network elements, such as L-SMF or SRF, the following process is also applicable), the session management function network element is SMF network element, the access mobility management function network element is AMF network element, the network open function network element is NEF network element, the application function network element is AF network element, the unified data management network element is UDM network element, the network storage function network element is NRF network element, the target user plane function network element is the target L-UPF, and the target edge application service is the target EAS. In the above embodiment, the possible process of the access mobility management function network element determining the target first network element according to the first parameter is introduced.

[0222] Assuming that a target first network element is determined in a session establishment scenario, as shown in FIG6 , a possible process may include the following steps:

[0223] S601. The UE sends a session establishment request message to the AMF network element to initiate session establishment, for example, to initiate the establishment of a PDU session.

[0224] S602: When the AMF network element selects an SMF network element based on a first parameter, the I-SMF network element is selected. The first parameter includes at least one of the following information: DNN, slice, or second area information, and the SMF network element is selected.

[0225] For details of S602, reference may be made to the above description of S302, where the access mobility management function network element selects a target first network element according to the first parameter.

[0226] S603: The AMF network element requests the selected I-SMF network element to create an SM context. The I-SMF network element sends a response message to the ALF network element regarding the request to create an SM context.

[0227] S604. The I-SMF network element obtains the subscription information of the UE.

[0228] The subscription information includes information such as the DNN, SNSSAI, and the UE's subscribed application information. The application information includes at least one of the following: FQDN(s) or APP ID. Optionally, the application information may also include preferred parameters, which include at least one of the following: latency requirements for transmission between the LUPF and the EAS, or load requirements for the LUPF.

[0229] Optionally, the I-SMF network element may obtain the subscription information of the UE in the manner shown in S604a. S604a includes the following steps:

[0230] The I-SMF network element requests the UE's subscription information from the UDM network element, and the UDM feeds back the UE's subscription information.

[0231] Alternatively, the I-SMF network element may also obtain the UE's subscription information in the manner shown in S604b. S604b includes the following steps:

[0232] The I-SMF network element requests the SMF network element to establish a PDU session. After receiving the request, the SMF network element obtains the UE's contract information (for example, from the UDM network element), and then sends the contract information to the I-SMF network element in the response PDU session process.

[0233] S605. The I-SMF network element determines the target EAS and target LUPF network elements according to the application information.

[0234] For details of S605 , reference may be made to the above description of S202 , in which the target first network element selects a target edge application service and / or a target user plane function network element according to the application information.

[0235] S606. The I-SMF network element sends the information of the selected target LUPF network element to the SMF network element, such as CN tunnel info and UEIP allocated by iupf.

[0236] S607. The SMF network element establishes a user plane channel between the target LUPF network element and the UE.

[0237] S608: A channel is established between the target EAS and the target LUPF network element.

[0238] The following assumes that the terminal device is UE, the first network element is I-SMF network element (it should be understood that when the first network element is other network elements, such as L-SMF or SRF, the following process is also applicable), the session management function network element is SMF network element, the access mobility management function network element is AMF network element, the network open function network element is NEF network element, the application function network element is AF network element, the unified data management network element is UDM network element, the network storage function network element is NRF network element, the target user plane function network element is the target L-UPF, and the target edge application service is the target EAS. In the above embodiment, another possible process of the session management function network element determining the target first network element based on the application information is introduced.

[0239] Assuming that a target first network element is determined in a session establishment scenario, as shown in FIG7 , another possible process may include the following steps:

[0240] S701. The UE sends a session establishment request message to the AMF network element to initiate session establishment, for example, to initiate the establishment of a PDU session.

[0241] S702. The AMF network element selects the SMF network element based on at least one of the following information: DNN, slice, PLMN, TA list information, etc.

[0242] S703. The AMF network element requests the selected SMF network element to create an SM context.

[0243] S704. The SMF network element requests the UE's contract information from the UDM network element, and the UDM feeds back the UE's contract information, where the contract information includes DNN, SNSSAI and other information as well as the application information of the UE's contract. For details, please refer to the above introduction to S504.

[0244] S705. The SMF network element sends a response message to the AMF for the request to create an SM context.

[0245] S706. The SMF network element determines the I-SMF network element based on the application information.

[0246] Among them, the SMF network element can determine the I-SMF network element by the method of S506a or S506b as described above (replacing the SRF network element with the I-SMF network element, which is not shown in Figure 7). Alternatively, as shown in Figure 7, the SMF network element can match the application information with the obtained EAS deployment information to determine the IP address or DNAI of the corresponding target EAS.

[0247] S707: The SMF network element sends a session establishment request or a LUPF selection request to the selected I-SMF network element, which carries the application information as a reference for the I-SMF network element to select the target LUPF and / or target EAS. The following is an example of the I-SMF network element selecting the target LUPF and target EAS.

[0248] S708. The I-SMF network element determines the target EAS and target LUPF network elements according to the application information.

[0249] For details of S708 , reference may be made to the above description of S202 , in which the target first network element selects a target edge application service and / or a target user plane function network element according to the application information.

[0250] S709. The I-SMF network element sends a response message to the SMF network element for the PDU session establishment request or LUPF selection request, which carries the information of the selected target LUPF network element, such as CN tunnel info and UEIP allocated by iupf.

[0251] S710. The SMF network element establishes a user plane channel between the target LUPF network element and the UE.

[0252] S711. A channel is established between the target EAS and the target LUPF network element.

[0253] In some possible scenarios, before the above-mentioned process shown in Figure 5, the process shown in Figure 6, or the process shown in Figure 7, the process of the first network element (SRF network element, L-SMF network element or I-SMF network element) obtaining EAS deployment information as shown in Figure 8 can be included.

[0254] As shown in 8a of FIG8 , a possible process for the first network element to obtain EAS deployment information includes the following steps S801a-S803a:

[0255] S801a: The AF network element sends EAS deployment information to the NEF network element. The EAS deployment information includes at least one of the following: FQDN(s), AppID, EAS IP, DNAI, or slice information.

[0256] Optionally, the AF may also store the EAS deployment information in the UDR network element.

[0257] S802a: The first network element subscribes to the EAS deployment information corresponding to a specific second parameter from the NEF network element. The second parameter includes at least one of the following: FQDN(s), AppID, or EAS IP.

[0258] S803a. The NEF network element sends EAS deployment information corresponding to the specific second parameter to the first network element.

[0259] For details of S801a-S803a, please refer to the above introduction to S400-S401.

[0260] As shown in 8b of FIG8 , another possible process for the first network element to obtain EAS deployment information includes the following steps S801b-S804b:

[0261] S801b. The AF network element provides EAS deployment information to the NEF / L-NEF network element.

[0262] S802b: The NEF / L-NEF network element requests the NRF to discover the first network element. The request message (e.g., a string of Nnrf_Nfdicovery_req) includes: the target NF is the SRF, the target NFS is Nnef_easdeployment, and ServiceAreaID. The ServiceAreaID indicates the service area of ​​the first network element requested for discovery.

[0263] S803b. The NRF network element sends the information of the discovered first network element to the NEF / L-NEF network element.

[0264] S804b. The NEF / L-NEF network element provides EAS deployment information to the first discovered network element.

[0265] As shown in 8c of FIG8 , another possible process for the first network element to obtain EAS deployment information includes the following steps S801c to S803c:

[0266] S801c: The AF network element requests the NRF to discover the first network element, wherein the request message (for example, a string of Nnrf_Nfdicovery_req) includes: the target NF is the SRF, the target NFS is Nnef_easdeployment, and ServiceAreaID. The ServiceAreaID indicates the service area of ​​the first network element requested for discovery.

[0267] S802c. The NRF network element sends the information of the discovered first network element to the AF network element.

[0268] S803c. The AF network element provides the EAS deployment information to the first network element discovered.

[0269] For S801b-S804b, or S801c-S803c, please refer to the above introduction to S402-S401 for details.

[0270] It can be understood that the processes shown in Figures 2 to 8 above are only logical schematic processes provided to facilitate understanding of the embodiments of the present application, and do not represent the actual timing of the embodiments of the present application. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the timing between different steps in the processes shown in Figures 2 to 8.

[0271] The above mainly introduces the solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application from the perspective of interaction between various network elements. Accordingly, the embodiments of the present application also provide a communication device, which is used to implement the various methods described above. The communication device can be each network element in the above method embodiments, or a device that includes each of the above network elements, or a component that can be used for each of the above network elements. It is understood that in order to implement the above functions, the communication device includes hardware structures and / or software modules corresponding to performing each function. Those skilled in the art should readily appreciate that, in combination with the various exemplary units and algorithm steps described in the embodiments disclosed herein, the present application can be implemented in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is implemented in hardware or in a hardware-driven manner by computer software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professionals and technicians may use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of this application.

[0272] 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.

[0273] Figure 9 shows a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device 900. The communication device 900 includes a processing module 901 and a transceiver module 902. Optionally, the communication device 900 may also include a storage module 903. The transceiver module 902, also known as a transceiver unit, is used to implement transceiver functions and may be, for example, a transceiver circuit, a transceiver, a transceiver, or a communication interface.

[0274] Taking the communication device 900 as the session management network element in the above embodiment as an example, in a possible implementation manner:

[0275] The transceiver module 902 is configured to obtain application information subscribed to the terminal device. The application information includes at least one of the following: a fully qualified domain name, an application identifier, or a data network access identifier. The processing module 901 is configured to select a target first network element based on the application information; the first network element is configured to select a local user plane function network element and / or an edge application service.

[0276] Optionally, the processing module 901 is specifically used to: send a first request message to the network storage function network element through the transceiver module 902, the first request message includes application information, and the first request message is used to request the network storage function network element to select a target first network element; receive a first response message for the first request message from the network storage function network element through the transceiver module 902, and the first response message includes information of the target first network element.

[0277] Optionally, the processing module 901 is specifically configured to: select a target first network element according to a mapping relationship between locally configured application information and the first network element.

[0278] Optionally, processing module 901 is specifically used to: determine the target data network access identifier and / or the IP address of the target edge application service based on the application information and the deployment information of the edge application service; wherein the deployment information of the edge application service includes the correspondence between the application information and the data network access identifier, and / or the IP address of the edge application service; select the target first network element based on the target data network access identifier and / or the IP address of the target edge application service.

[0279] Optionally, the transceiver module 902 is further configured to: send a second request message to the target first network element, where the second request message is used to request the target first network element to select a target edge application service and / or a target user plane function network element.

[0280] Optionally, the transceiver module 902 is further configured to: receive a second response message for the second request message from the target first network element, where the second response message includes information of the target user plane function network element.

[0281] Optionally, the transceiver module 902 is further configured to: receive a third request message from the access mobility management function network element, the third request message being used to request establishment of a session context. The processing module 901 is further configured to determine to select a target first network element according to the third request message.

[0282] Taking the communication device 900 as the access mobility management function network element in the above embodiment as an example, in one possible implementation manner:

[0283] The transceiver module 902 is configured to receive a session establishment request message from a terminal device. The processing module 901 is configured to select a target first network element based on a first parameter; the first network element is configured to select an edge application service. The first parameter includes one or more of the following information: a data network name, information about a slice associated with the application, and information about a first region, where the first region is related to the location of the terminal device.

[0284] The processing module 901 is further configured to determine and select a session management network element according to the session establishment request message. The processing module 901 is specifically configured to: select a target first network element when selecting a session management network element according to the first parameter.

[0285] Taking the communication device 900 as the second network element in the above embodiment as an example, in a possible implementation manner:

[0286] The transceiver module 902 is configured to send edge application service deployment information to a first network element serving the second area. The edge application service deployment information includes at least one of the following: a fully qualified domain name, an application identifier, an IP address of the edge application service, or a data network access identifier. The first network element is configured to select an edge application service and / or a local user plane function network element.

[0287] Optionally, the transceiver module 902 is further configured to send a fourth request message to the network storage function network element, the fourth request message being used to request discovery of a first network element serving the second area, the fourth request message including information indicating the second area. The transceiver module 902 is further configured to receive information about the first network element serving the second area from the network storage function network element. The transceiver module 902 is specifically configured to send edge application service deployment information to the first network element serving the second area based on the information about the first network element serving the second area.

[0288] Optionally, the transceiver module 902 is further configured to receive a fifth request message from the first network element, the fifth request message requesting to subscribe to the deployment information of the edge application service. The transceiver module 902 is specifically configured to send the deployment information of the edge application service to the first network element according to the fifth request message.

[0289] In one possible implementation, the fifth request message includes a second parameter, where the second parameter includes at least one of the following: a fully qualified domain name, an application identifier, or an IP address of the edge application service. The transceiver module 902 is specifically configured to send, to the first network element, deployment information of the edge application service corresponding to the second parameter, based on the fifth request message.

[0290] Taking the communication device 900 as the first network element in the above embodiment as an example, in a possible implementation manner:

[0291] The transceiver module 902 is configured to send a fifth request message requesting a subscription to the edge application service deployment information. The transceiver module 902 is further configured to receive the edge application service deployment information from the second network element; the edge application service deployment information includes at least one of the following: a fully qualified domain name, an application identifier, an IP address of the edge application service, or a data network access identifier.

[0292] In one possible implementation, the fifth request message includes a second parameter, and the second parameter includes at least one of the following: a fully qualified domain name, an application identifier, or an IP address of an edge application service. The transceiver module 902 is specifically configured to receive deployment information of the edge application service corresponding to the second parameter from the second network element.

[0293] 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.

[0294] Alternatively, the modules in FIG9 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 FIG9 , 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.

[0295] If the various units in Figure 9 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, 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 a network device, etc.) or a processor (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.

[0296] In the embodiment of the present application, the communication device 900 is presented in the form of various functional modules divided in an integrated manner. The "module" here can refer to an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a circuit, a processor and memory that executes one or more software or firmware programs, an integrated logic circuit, and / or other devices that can provide the above functions.

[0297] In a simple embodiment, those skilled in the art may appreciate that the communication device 900 may take the form of the communication device shown in FIG. 10 .

[0298] As shown in Figure 10, the communication device 1000 includes one or more processors 1001, a communication line 1002, and at least one communication interface (Figure 10 is only an example of including a communication interface 1004 and a processor 1001 for illustration), and may optionally also include a memory 1003.

[0299] The processor 1001 may be a general-purpose central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, an ASIC, or one or more integrated circuits for controlling the execution of the program of the present application.

[0300] The communication line 1002 may include a path for connecting different components.

[0301] Communication interface 1004 may be a transceiver module for communicating with other devices or communication networks, such as Ethernet, RAN, terminals, and wireless local area networks (WLANs). For example, the transceiver module may be a device such as a transceiver or a transceiver. Alternatively, communication interface 1004 may be a transceiver circuit or input / output interface within processor 1001, used to implement signal input and output to the processor.

[0302] The memory 1003 may be a device having a storage function. For example, it may be a read-only memory (ROM) or other types of static storage devices that can store static information and instructions, a random access memory (RAM) or other types of dynamic storage devices 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 compact 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, but is not limited thereto. The memory may be independent and connected to the processor via a communication line 1002. The memory may also be integrated with the processor.

[0303] The memory 1003 is used to store computer-executable instructions for executing the solution of the present application, and the execution is controlled by the processor 1001. The processor 1001 is used to execute the computer-executable instructions stored in the memory 1003, thereby implementing the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application.

[0304] Alternatively, optionally, in an embodiment of the present application, the processor 1001 may also perform processing-related functions in the communication method provided in the following embodiments of the present application, and the communication interface 1004 is responsible for communicating with other devices or communication networks, which is not specifically limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0305] Optionally, the computer-executable instructions in the embodiments of the present application may also be referred to as application code, which is not specifically limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0306] In a specific implementation, as an embodiment, the processor 1001 may include one or more CPUs, such as CPU0 and CPU1 in FIG10 .

[0307] In a specific implementation, as an embodiment, the communication device 1000 may include multiple processors, such as the processor 1001 and the processor 1007 in Figure 10. Each of these processors may be a single-core processor or a multi-core processor. The processor here may include but is not limited to at least one of the following: a CPU, a microprocessor, a digital signal processing (DSP), a microcontroller unit (MCU), or an artificial intelligence processor, etc., and each computing device may include one or more cores for executing software instructions to perform calculations or processing.

[0308] In a specific implementation, as an embodiment, the communication device 1000 may further include an output device 1005 and an input device 1006. The output device 1005 communicates with the processor 1001 and can display information in a variety of ways. For example, the output device 1005 can be a liquid crystal display (LCD), a light emitting diode (LED) display device, a cathode ray tube (CRT) display device, or a projector. The input device 1006 communicates with the processor 1001 and can receive user input in a variety of ways. For example, the input device 1206 can be a mouse, a keyboard, a touch screen device, or a sensor device.

[0309] The communication device 1000 described above may sometimes also be referred to as a communication device, which may be a general-purpose device or a dedicated device. For example, the communication device 1000 may be any of the network elements, access network devices, or devices having a similar structure as shown in FIG10 . The embodiments of the present application do not limit the type of the communication device 1000.

[0310] In addition, the composition structure shown in Figure 10 does not constitute a limitation on the communication device. In addition to the components shown in Figure 10, the communication device 1000 may include more or fewer components than shown in the figure, or combine certain components, or arrange the components differently.

[0311] Optionally, the functions / implementation processes of the transceiver module 902 and the processing module 901 in FIG9 can be implemented by the processor 1001 in the communication device 1000 shown in FIG10 calling computer-executable instructions stored in the memory 1003. Alternatively, the functions / implementation processes of the processing module 901 in FIG9 can be implemented by the processor 1001 in the communication device 1000 shown in FIG10 calling computer-executable instructions stored in the memory 1003, and the functions / implementation processes of the transceiver module 902 in FIG9 can be implemented by the communication interface 1004 in the communication device 1000 shown in FIG10.

[0312] It should be understood that one or more of the above modules or units can be implemented by software, hardware, or a combination of the two. When any of the above modules or units is implemented in software, the software exists in the form of computer program instructions and is stored in a memory, and a processor can be used to execute the program instructions and implement the above method flow. The processor can be built into an SoC or ASIC, or it can be an independent semiconductor chip. In addition to the core used to execute software instructions to perform calculations or processing within the processor, it can further include necessary hardware accelerators, such as FPGAs, programmable logic devices (PLDs), or logic circuits that implement dedicated logic operations.

[0313] When the above modules or units are implemented in hardware, the hardware can be any one or any combination of a CPU, a microprocessor, a DSP chip, an MCU, an artificial intelligence processor, an ASIC, a SoC, an FPGA, a PLD, a dedicated digital circuit, a hardware accelerator or a non-integrated discrete device, which can run the necessary software or not rely on the software to execute the above method flow.

[0314] Optionally, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication device (for example, the communication device may be a chip or a chip system), which includes a processor for implementing the method in any of the above method embodiments. In one possible design, the communication device also includes a memory. The memory is used to store necessary program instructions and data, and the processor can call the program code stored in the memory to instruct the communication device to execute the method in any of the above method embodiments. Of course, the memory may not be in the communication device. When the communication device is a chip system, it may be composed of a chip, or it may include a chip and other discrete devices, which is not specifically limited in the embodiment of the present application.

[0315] Optionally, an embodiment of the present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores a computer program or instruction. When the computer program or instruction is run on a communication device, the communication device can execute the method described in any of the above method embodiments or any of its implementation methods.

[0316] Optionally, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication system, which includes the multiple network elements described in the above method embodiment, for example, a first network element and a second network element.

[0317] 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 according to 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 drives (SSDs)).

[0318] 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.

[0319] Although the present application has been described with reference to specific features and embodiments thereof, it is apparent that various modifications and combinations may be made thereto without departing from the scope of the present application. Accordingly, this specification and the 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 scope of the present application. Thus, the present application is intended to encompass such modifications and variations as fall within the scope of the claims of the present application and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, The method includes: The session management function network element obtains the application information subscribed by the terminal device, where the application information includes at least one of the following: fully qualified domain name, application identifier, or data network access identifier; The session management function network element selects a target first network element according to the application information; wherein, the first network element is used to select a local user plane function network element and / or an edge application service.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The session management function network element selects a target first network element according to the application information, including: The session management function network element sends a first request message to the network storage function network element, where the first request message includes the application information, and the first request message is used to request the network storage function network element to select a target first network element; The session management function network element receives a first response message for the first request message from the network storage function network element, where the first response message includes information about the target first network element.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein The first request message further includes information about a first area, and the information about the first area is used for the network storage function network element to select a target first network element, and the first area is related to the location of the terminal device.

4. The method according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that, The first request message further includes first indication information, and the first indication information is used to indicate that the network element requested to be selected is a first network element.

5. The method according to any one of claims 2-4, characterized in that The first request message includes second indication information, and the second indication information is used to indicate that the requested network service is to select a user plane function network element, or to establish a session.

6. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The session management function network element selects a target first network element according to the application information, including: The session management function network element selects the target first network element according to the mapping relationship between the locally configured application information and the first network element.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein The session management function network element selects a target first network element according to the application information, including: The session management function network element determines a target data network access identifier and / or an IP address of a target edge application service according to the application information and the deployment information of the edge application service; wherein, the deployment information of the edge application service includes the correspondence between the application information and the data network access identifier and / or the IP address of the edge application service; The session management function network element selects the target first network element according to the target data network access identifier and / or the IP address of the target edge application service.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1-7, characterized in that The method further includes: The session management function network element sends a second request message to the target first network element, and the second request message is used to request the target first network element to select a target edge application service and / or a target user plane function network element.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein The second request message includes the application information, and the application information is used for the target first network element to select a target edge application service and / or a target user plane function network element.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that, The application information further includes one or more of the following information: a latency requirement for transmission between the user plane function network element and the edge application service, or a load requirement for the user plane function network element.

11. The method according to any one of claims 8 - 10, characterized in that, The method further includes: The session management function network element receives a second response message for the second request message from the target first network element, and the second response message includes information of the target user plane function network element.

12. The method according to any one of claims 1-11, characterized in that The method further includes: The session management function network element receives a third request message from the access and mobility management function network element, and the third request message is used to request the establishment of a session context; The session management function network element determines to select a target first network element according to the third request message.

13. A communication method, characterized in that, The method includes: The access and mobility management function network element receives a session establishment request message from a terminal device; The access and mobility management function network element selects a target first network element according to a first parameter; the first network element is used to select an edge application service, and the first parameter includes one or more of the following information: data network name, information of a slice associated with the application, information of a first area, and the first area is related to the location of the terminal device.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein The method further includes: The access and mobility management function network element determines to select a session management network element according to the session establishment request message; The access and mobility management function network element selects a target first network element according to a first parameter, including: When the access and mobility management function network element selects a session management network element according to the first parameter, it selects the target first network element.

15. A communication method, characterized in that, The method includes: A second network element sends deployment information of an edge application service to a first network element serving a second area; wherein, the deployment information of the edge application service includes at least one of the following: fully qualified domain name, application identifier, IP address of the edge application service, or data network access identifier; Wherein, the first network element is used to select an edge application service and / or a local user plane function network element.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein The method further includes: The second network element sends a fourth request message to a network storage function network element, and the fourth request message is used to request to discover a first network element serving a second area, and the fourth request message includes information indicating the second area; The second network element receives information of a first network element serving a second area from the network storage function network element; The second network element sends deployment information of an edge application service to a second network element serving a first area, including: The second network element sends the deployment information of the edge application service to the first network element serving the second area according to the information of the first network element serving the second area.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein The fourth request message includes at least one of the following information: a third indication information, or a fourth indication information; wherein, the third indication information is used to indicate that the network element requested to be discovered is a first network element, and the fourth indication information is used to indicate that the requested service is to provide deployment information of an edge application service.

18. The method according to claim 15, wherein The method further includes: The second network element receives a fifth request message from the first network element, and the fifth request message requests to subscribe to deployment information of an edge application service; The second network element sends deployment information of an edge application service to a first network element serving a second area, including: The second network element sends deployment information of an edge application service to the first network element according to the fifth request message.

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein The fifth request message includes a second parameter, and the second parameter includes at least one of the following: fully qualified domain name, application identifier, or IP address of the edge application service; The second network element sends deployment information of the edge application service to the first network element serving the second area, including: The second network element sends, according to the fifth request message, the deployment information of the edge application service corresponding to the second parameter to the first network element.

20. A communication method, characterized in that, The method includes: A first network element sends a fifth request message to a second network element, and the fifth request message requests to subscribe to deployment information of an edge application service; The first network element receives the deployment information of the edge application service from the second network element; wherein, the deployment information of the edge application service includes at least one of the following: fully qualified domain name, application identifier, IP address of the edge application service, or data network access identifier.

21. The method according to claim 20, wherein The fifth request message includes a second parameter, and the second parameter includes at least one of the following: fully qualified domain name, application identifier, or IP address of the edge application service; The first network element receives the deployment information of the edge application service from the second network element, including: The first network element receives the deployment information of the edge application service corresponding to the second parameter from the second network element.

22. A communication system, characterized in that, The communication system includes a first network element and a second network element; The second network element is configured to send deployment information of the edge application service to the first network element, wherein the deployment information of the edge application service includes at least one of the following: fully qualified domain name, application identifier, IP address of the edge application service, or data network access identifier; The first network element is configured to receive the deployment information of the edge application service; The first network element is further configured to select an edge application service and / or a local user plane function network element.

23. The communication system according to claim 22, characterized in that, The first network element is further configured to send a fifth request message to the second network element, and the fifth request message requests to subscribe to deployment information of the edge application service.

24. The communication system according to claim 22, wherein The second network element is further configured to send a fourth request message to the network storage function network element, and the fourth request message is used to request to discover the first network element serving the second area, and the fourth request message includes information indicating the second area; The second network element is further configured to receive information of the first network element serving the second area from the network storage function network element; The second network element sends deployment information of the edge application service to the second network element, including: sending the deployment information of the edge application service to the first network element serving the second area according to the information of the first network element serving the second area.

25. The communication system according to any one of claims 22-24, characterized in that, The communication system further includes a session management function network element; The session management function network element is configured to obtain application information subscribed by a terminal device, and the application information includes at least one of the following: fully qualified domain name, application identifier, or data network access identifier; The session management function network element is further configured to select a target first network element according to the application information.

26. The communication system according to any one of claims 22-24, characterized in that, The communication system further includes an access and mobility management function network element; The access and mobility management function network element is configured to receive a session establishment request message from a terminal device; The access mobility management functional network element is further configured to select a target first network element according to a first parameter, where the first parameter includes one or more pieces of the following information: data network name, information of a slice associated with an application, and information of a first area, and the first area is related to the location of the terminal device.

27. A network element, characterized in that, The network element includes a module or unit for performing the method according to any one of claims 1-12; or, the network element includes a module or unit for performing the method according to claim 13 or 14; or, the network element includes a module or unit for performing the method according to any one of claims 15-19; or, the network element includes a module or unit for performing the method according to claim 20 or 21.

28. A communication device, characterized in that, The communication device includes: a processor; the processor is configured to execute a computer program or instruction stored in a memory, so that the communication device performs the method according to any one of claims 1-12 or 13-14 or 15-19 or 20-21.

29. A chip system, characterized in that, Comprising: a processor and an interface circuit; The interface circuit is configured to receive a computer execution instruction and transmit it to the processor; The processor is configured to execute the computer execution instruction, so that the communication device performs the method according to any one of claims 1-12 or 13-14 or 15-19 or 20-21.

30. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, A computer program or instruction is stored thereon, and when the computer program or instruction is executed by a computer, the computer is caused to execute the method according to any one of claims 1-12 or 13-14 or 15-19 or 20-21.

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