Communication method and apparatus

Abstract

The present application relates to the technical field of wireless communications. Provided are a communication method and apparatus, which are used for managing a session of a terminal device. The method comprises: a non-3GPP access network device receiving first information sent by a core network device, wherein the first information indicates a user plane resource for establishing a first session of a terminal device; and sending user plane connection information to the terminal device, wherein the user plane connection information indicates a first mapping relationship, and the first mapping relationship comprises at least one of the following: a mapping relationship between the first session and a first connection and / or a first flow, a mapping relationship between one or more QoS flows and the first connection and / or the first flow, and a mapping relationship between a QoS flow in the first session and the first connection and / or the first flow. The non-3GPP access network device can accurately map the first session or the QoS flow in the first session onto the first connection and / or the first flow, so as to accurately transmit service data of the terminal device.

Description

Communication method and device

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of the People's Republic of China on February 8, 2024, with application number 202410178301.7 and application name "A Communication Method and Device", the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0003] The present application relates to the field of wireless communication technology, and in particular to a communication method and device. Background Art

[0004] The terminal device can access the network through a third generation partnership project (3GPP) access network device or a non-3GPP access network device.

[0005] In wireless communication systems, such as new radio (NR) systems, a terminal device can establish a protocol data unit (PDU) session with a data network (DN) element through a user plane function (UPF) network element. The PDU session provides data transmission services between the terminal device and the DN network element. When a terminal device accesses the core network through a non-3GPP access network device, how to manage the PDU session is a problem that needs to be solved. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The present application provides a communication method and apparatus for managing sessions of terminal devices.

[0007] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, which can be executed by a non-3GPP access network device or a module (such as a chip) applied to a non-3GPP access network device. Taking the non-3GPP access network device executing the method as an example, the method includes: the non-3GPP access network device receives first information sent by a core network device, the first information indicates user plane resources for establishing a first session of a terminal device; determines user plane connection information based on the first information, and sends the user plane connection information to the terminal device, the user plane connection information indicates a first mapping relationship, the first mapping relationship includes at least one of the following: a mapping relationship between the first session and the first connection and / or the first flow, a mapping relationship between one or more QoS flows and the first connection and / or the first flow, a mapping relationship between the QoS flow in the first session and the first connection and / or the first flow; wherein, the first connection is used for data transmission between the terminal device and the non-3GPP access network device based on a first protocol.

[0008] Through the above method, when the terminal device requests to establish a first session, the non-3GPP access network device can accurately map the first session or the QoS flow in the first session to the first connection and / or first flow based on the first protocol between the terminal device and the non-3GPP access network device when creating a user plane connection or user plane resources, thereby accurately transmitting the service data of the terminal device.

[0009] In one possible design, the first mapping relationship includes a mapping relationship between the first session and the first flow; the user plane connection information includes identification information of the first flow.

[0010] Optionally, the user plane connection information may further include a session identifier of the first session.

[0011] Through the above design, the first session of the terminal device is mapped to the first stream, and different sessions can correspond to different streams, thereby achieving differentiated processing of different sessions.

[0012] In one possible design, the first mapping relationship includes a mapping relationship between the QoS flow in the first session and the first flow; the user plane connection information includes identification information of the QoS flow in the first session and identification information of the first flow.

[0013] Through the above design, the QoS flow in the first session of the terminal device is mapped to the first flow, and different QoS flows in the first session can correspond to different flows, thereby achieving differentiated processing of different QoS flows in the session.

[0014] In one possible design, the first connection is used to transmit control signaling of the first session and the terminal device.

[0015] Through the above design, the non-3GPP access network device and the terminal device can transmit the service flow and control signaling corresponding to the session of the terminal device based on the same connection.

[0016] In one possible design, the first mapping relationship includes a mapping relationship between the first session and the first connection and the first stream; the user plane connection information includes identification information of the first stream; or, the user plane connection information includes information indicating the first connection and identification information of the first stream.

[0017] Through the above design, the first session of the terminal device is mapped to the first connection and the first stream. Different sessions can correspond to different connections and / or streams, thereby achieving differentiated processing of different sessions.

[0018] In one possible design, the first connection is used to transmit one or more sessions of the terminal device, where the one or more sessions include the first session, and the first session corresponds to the first stream.

[0019] Through the above design, the non-3GPP access network device and the terminal device can transmit the service flows corresponding to one or more sessions of the terminal device based on the same connection, and different sessions can be mapped to different flows, thereby achieving differentiated processing of the sessions.

[0020] In one possible design, the first mapping relationship includes a mapping relationship between the QoS flow in the first session and the first connection and the first flow; the user plane connection information includes identification information of the QoS flow in the first session and identification information of the first flow; or, the user plane connection information includes information indicating the first connection, identification information of the QoS flow in the first session and identification information of the first flow.

[0021] Through the above design, the QoS flow in the first session of the terminal device is mapped to the first connection and the first flow. Different QoS flows in the session can correspond to different connections and / or flows, thereby achieving differentiated processing of different QoS flows in the session.

[0022] In one possible design, the first connection is used to transmit one or more sessions of the terminal device, the one or more sessions include the first session, and the first stream is used to transmit one or more QoS streams in the first session; or the first connection is used to transmit the first session, and the first stream is used to transmit one or more QoS streams of the first session; or the first connection is used to transmit the same QoS stream in one or more sessions of the terminal device, and the first stream is used to transmit the first session.

[0023] Through the above design, the connection between the non-3GPP access network device and the terminal device can correspond to different granularities (such as session granularity or QoS flow), thereby realizing flexible mapping between sessions, QoS flows and connections and flows.

[0024] In one possible design, the first mapping relationship includes a mapping relationship between the first session and the first connection; and the user plane connection information includes information indicating the first connection.

[0025] In one possible design, the first connection is used to transmit the first session.

[0026] Through the above design, the first session of the terminal device is mapped to the first connection, and different sessions can correspond to different connections, thereby achieving differentiated processing of different sessions.

[0027] In one possible design, the first mapping relationship includes a mapping relationship between the QoS flow of the first session and the first connection; the user plane connection information includes information indicating the first connection and identification information of the QoS flow of the first session.

[0028] In one possible design, the first connection is used to transmit one or more QoS flows in the first session.

[0029] Through the above design, the QoS flow in the first session of the terminal device is mapped to the first connection, and different QoS flows in the session can correspond to different connections, thereby achieving differentiated processing of different QoS flows in the session.

[0030] In one possible design, the first mapping relationship includes a mapping relationship between one or more QoS flows and a first connection; the user plane connection information includes identification information of the QoS flow, or the user plane connection information includes identification information of the QoS flow and information indicating the first connection.

[0031] In one possible design, the first connection is used to transmit the same QoS flow in one or more sessions of the terminal device, including the first session.

[0032] Through the above design, the first connection can be QoS flow granularity, and the same QoS flow in different sessions can be mapped to the same connection, thereby achieving differentiated processing for different QoS flows.

[0033] In one possible design, if the non-3GPP access network device determines that the first session or the first connection corresponding to the QoS flow in the first session has not been established between the terminal device and the non-3GPP access network device, then the first session or the corresponding first connection corresponding to the QoS flow in the first session is established.

[0034] Through the above design, when the first session of the terminal device or the QoS flow in the first session is mapped to the first connection and the first connection has not yet been established, the non-3GPP access network device establishes the first connection, thereby ensuring the accurate transmission of uplink and downlink data / signaling of the terminal device.

[0035] In one possible design, a non-3GPP access network device receives uplink data from the terminal device; the non-3GPP access network device determines the session and / or QoS flow corresponding to the uplink data based on the first connection and / or first flow corresponding to the uplink data, and the first mapping relationship; the non-3GPP access network device sends the uplink data based on the session and / or QoS flow corresponding to the uplink data.

[0036] Through the above design, after receiving the uplink data of the terminal device, the non-3GPP access network device can accurately transmit the uplink data of the terminal device based on the first mapping relationship.

[0037] In one possible design, a non-3GPP access network device receives downlink data from the terminal device; the non-3GPP access network device determines the first connection and / or first flow corresponding to the downlink data based on the session and / or QoS flow corresponding to the downlink data and the first mapping relationship; the non-3GPP access network device sends the downlink data to the terminal device based on the first connection and / or first flow corresponding to the downlink data.

[0038] Through the above design, after receiving the downlink data of the terminal device, the non-3GPP access network device can accurately transmit the downlink data of the terminal device based on the first mapping relationship.

[0039] In one possible design, if the non-3GPP access network device determines that the terminal device and the non-3GPP access network device communicate based on the first protocol, it sends connection establishment information to the terminal device, and the connection establishment information is used to establish a second connection between the terminal device and the non-3GPP access network device. The second connection is used to transmit control signaling between the terminal device and the non-3GPP access network device based on the first protocol.

[0040] Optionally, the second connection may be the same as the first connection.

[0041] Through the above design, a second connection can be established between the non-3GPP access network device and the terminal device, thereby ensuring accurate transmission of signaling between the non-3GPP access network device and the terminal device.

[0042] In one possible design, a non-3GPP access network device receives first capability information sent by the terminal device, where the first capability information is used to indicate that the terminal device supports the first protocol; the non-3GPP access network device sends second capability information to the terminal device, where the second capability information is used to indicate that the non-3GPP access network device supports the first protocol.

[0043] Through the above design, capability negotiation can be performed between the non-3GPP access network device and the terminal device. After determining that both parties support the first protocol, a connection based on the first protocol can be established.

[0044] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, which can be executed by a terminal device or a module (such as a chip) applied to the terminal device. Taking the terminal device executing the method as an example, the method includes: the terminal device sends a second message, and the second message requests to establish a first session; the terminal device receives the user plane connection information sent by the non-3GPP access network device, and the user plane connection information indicates a first mapping relationship, and the first mapping relationship includes at least one of the following: a mapping relationship between the first session and the first connection and / or the first flow, a mapping relationship between one or more QoS flows and the first connection and / or the first flow, and a mapping relationship between the QoS flow in the first session and the first connection and / or the first flow; wherein, the first connection is used to transmit data between the terminal device and the non-3GPP access network device based on a first protocol.

[0045] In one possible design, the first mapping relationship includes a mapping relationship between the first session and the first flow; the user plane connection information includes identification information of the first flow.

[0046] In one possible design, the first mapping relationship includes a mapping relationship between the QoS flow in the first session and the first flow; the user plane connection information includes identification information of the QoS flow in the first session and identification information of the first flow.

[0047] In one possible design, the first connection is used to transmit control signaling of the first session and the terminal device.

[0048] In one possible design, the first mapping relationship includes a mapping relationship between the first session and the first connection and the first stream; the user plane connection information includes identification information of the first stream; or, the user plane connection information includes information indicating the first connection and identification information of the first stream.

[0049] In one possible design, the first connection is used to transmit one or more sessions of the terminal device, where the one or more sessions include the first session, and the first session corresponds to the first stream.

[0050] In one possible design, the first mapping relationship includes a mapping relationship between the QoS flow in the first session and the first connection and the first flow; the user plane connection information includes identification information of the QoS flow in the first session and identification information of the first flow; or, the user plane connection information includes information indicating the first connection, identification information of the QoS flow in the first session and identification information of the first flow.

[0051] In one possible design, the first connection is used to transmit one or more sessions of the terminal device, the one or more sessions include the first session, and the first stream is used to transmit one or more QoS streams in the first session; or the first connection is used to transmit the first session, and the first stream is used to transmit one or more QoS streams of the first session; or the first connection is used to transmit the same QoS stream in one or more sessions of the terminal device, and the first stream is used to transmit the first session.

[0052] In one possible design, the first mapping relationship includes a mapping relationship between the first session and the first connection; and the user plane connection information includes information indicating the first connection.

[0053] In one possible design, the first connection is used to transmit the first session.

[0054] In one possible design, the first mapping relationship includes a mapping relationship between the QoS flow of the first session and the first connection; the user plane connection information includes information indicating the first connection and identification information of the QoS flow of the first session.

[0055] In one possible design, the first connection is used to transmit one or more QoS flows in the first session.

[0056] In one possible design, the first mapping relationship includes a mapping relationship between one or more QoS flows and a first connection; the user plane connection information includes identification information of the QoS flow, or the user plane connection information includes identification information of the QoS flow and information indicating the first connection.

[0057] In one possible design, the first connection is used to transmit the same QoS flow in one or more sessions of the terminal device, including the first session.

[0058] In one possible design, the terminal device obtains uplink data to be sent; the non-3GPP access network device determines the first connection and / or first flow corresponding to the uplink data based on the session and / or QoS flow corresponding to the uplink data, and the first mapping relationship; the non-3GPP access network device sends the uplink data to the non-3GPP access network device based on the first connection and / or first flow corresponding to the uplink data.

[0059] In one possible design, the terminal device receives connection establishment information sent by the non-3GPP access network device, and the connection establishment information is used to establish a second connection between the terminal device and the non-3GPP access network device, and the second connection is used to transmit control signaling between the terminal device and the non-3GPP access network device based on the first protocol.

[0060] In one possible design, the terminal device sends first capability information to the non-3GPP access network device, where the first capability information is used to indicate that the terminal device supports the first protocol; the terminal device receives second capability information sent by the non-3GPP access network device, where the second capability information is used to indicate that the non-3GPP access network device supports the first protocol.

[0061] In one possible design, the terminal device sends third information to the domain name server, where the third information is used to indicate a query for non-3GPP access network devices that support the first protocol; the terminal device receives information about non-3GPP access network devices that support the first protocol sent by the domain name server.

[0062] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, which can be executed by a non-3GPP access network device or a module (such as a chip) applied to a non-3GPP access network device. Taking the non-3GPP access network device executing the method as an example, the method includes: the non-3GPP access network device receives first information sent by a core network device, the first information indicates a user plane resource for establishing a first session of a terminal device; determines user plane connection information based on the first information, and sends the user plane connection information to the terminal device, the user plane connection information indicates a first mapping relationship, the first mapping relationship includes at least one of the following: a mapping relationship between the first session and the first connection and / or the first flow, a mapping relationship between one or more QoS flows and the first connection and / or the first flow, a mapping relationship between the QoS flow in the first session and the first connection and / or the first flow; wherein, the first connection is used for data transmission between the terminal device and the non-3GPP access network device based on a first protocol.

[0063] Through the above method, when the terminal device requests to establish a first session, the non-3GPP access network device can accurately map the first session or the QoS flow in the first session to the first connection and / or first flow based on the first protocol between the terminal device and the non-3GPP access network device when creating a user plane connection, thereby accurately managing the session established by the terminal device.

[0064] In one possible design, the first connection is used to transmit control signaling of the first session and the terminal device.

[0065] In one possible design, the first mapping relationship includes a mapping relationship between the first session and the first flow; the user plane connection information includes identification information of the first flow.

[0066] Optionally, the user plane connection information may further include a session identifier of the first session.

[0067] In one possible design, the first mapping relationship includes a mapping relationship between the QoS flow in the first session and the first flow; the user plane connection information includes identification information of the QoS flow in the first session and identification information of the first flow.

[0068] Optionally, the user plane connection information may further include a session identifier of the first session.

[0069] Through the above design, the non-3GPP access network device and the terminal device can transmit the service flow and control signaling corresponding to the terminal device's session based on the same connection, and realize differentiated processing of the session or different QoS flows in the session.

[0070] In one possible design, the first connection is used to transmit one or more sessions of the terminal device, where the one or more sessions include the first session, and the first session corresponds to the first stream.

[0071] In one possible design, the first mapping relationship includes a mapping relationship between the first session and the first connection and the first stream; the user plane connection information includes identification information of the first stream; or the user plane connection information includes information indicating the first connection and identification information of the first stream.

[0072] Optionally, the user plane connection information may further include a session identifier of the first session.

[0073] In one possible design, the first connection is used to transmit one or more sessions of the terminal device, where the one or more sessions include the first session, and the first flow is used to transmit one or more QoS flows in the first session.

[0074] In one possible design, the first mapping relationship includes a mapping relationship between a QoS flow in the first session and the first connection and the first flow;

[0075] The user plane connection information includes identification information of the QoS flow in the first session and identification information of the first flow, or the user plane connection information includes information indicating the first connection, identification information of the QoS flow in the first session and identification information of the first flow.

[0076] Optionally, the user plane connection information may further include a session identifier of the first session.

[0077] Through the above design, the non-3GPP access network device and the terminal device can transmit the service flows corresponding to one or more sessions of the terminal device based on one connection, and implement differentiated processing of sessions or different QoS flows in sessions.

[0078] In one possible design, the first connection is used to transmit the first session.

[0079] In one possible design, the first flow is used to transmit one or more QoS flows of the first session.

[0080] In one possible design, the first mapping relationship includes a mapping relationship between the first session and the first connection; and the user plane connection information includes information indicating the first connection.

[0081] Optionally, the user plane connection information may further include a session identifier of the first session.

[0082] In one possible design, the first mapping relationship includes a mapping relationship between the QoS flow in the first session and the first connection and the first flow; the user plane connection information includes information indicating the first connection, identification information of the QoS flow of the first session, and identification information of the first flow.

[0083] Optionally, the user plane connection information may further include a session identifier of the first session.

[0084] Through the above design, the non-3GPP access network device and the terminal device can transmit the service flows corresponding to one or more sessions of the terminal device based on one or more connections, and implement differentiated processing of sessions or different QoS flows in sessions.

[0085] In one possible design, the first connection is used to transmit one or more QoS flows in the first session, where the one or more sessions include the first session.

[0086] In one possible design, the first mapping relationship includes a mapping relationship between the QoS flow of the first session and the first connection; the user plane connection information includes information indicating the first connection and identification information of the QoS flow of the first session.

[0087] Optionally, the user plane connection information may further include a session identifier of the first session.

[0088] Through the above design, the non-3GPP access network device and the terminal device can transmit the service flows corresponding to one or more sessions of the terminal device based on one or more connections, and implement differentiated processing of sessions or different QoS flows in sessions.

[0089] In one possible design, the first connection is used to transmit the same QoS flow in one or more sessions of the terminal device, and the one or more sessions include the first session.

[0090] In one possible design, the first mapping relationship includes a mapping relationship between one or more QoS flows of the terminal device and the first connection; the user plane connection information includes identification information of the QoS flow, or the user plane connection information includes identification information of the QoS flow and information indicating the first connection.

[0091] In one possible design, the first connection is used to transmit the same QoS flow in one or more sessions of the terminal device, the one or more sessions include the first session, and the first flow is used to transmit the first session.

[0092] In one possible design, the first mapping relationship includes a mapping relationship between the QoS flow in the first session and the first connection and the first data flow; the user plane connection information includes identification information of the QoS flow in the first session and identification information of the first flow, or the user plane connection information includes identification information of the QoS flow in the first session, information indicating the first connection, and identification information of the first flow.

[0093] Optionally, the user plane connection information may further include a session identifier of the first session.

[0094] Through the above design, the non-3GPP access network device and the terminal device can transmit the service flows corresponding to one or more sessions of the terminal device based on one or more connections, and implement differentiated processing of sessions or different QoS flows in sessions.

[0095] In one possible design, if the non-3GPP access network device determines that the first session or the first connection corresponding to the QoS flow in the first session has not been established between the terminal device and the non-3GPP access network device, then the first session or the corresponding first connection corresponding to the QoS flow in the first session is established.

[0096] Through the above design, when the first session of the terminal device or the QoS flow in the first session is mapped to the first connection and the first connection has not yet been established, the non-3GPP access network device establishes the first connection, thereby ensuring the accurate transmission of uplink and downlink data / signaling of the terminal device.

[0097] In one possible design, a non-3GPP access network device receives uplink data from the terminal device; the non-3GPP access network device determines the session and / or QoS flow corresponding to the uplink data based on the first connection and / or first flow corresponding to the uplink data, and the first mapping relationship; the non-3GPP access network device sends the uplink data based on the session and / or QoS flow corresponding to the uplink data.

[0098] Through the above design, after receiving the uplink data of the terminal device, the non-3GPP access network device can accurately transmit the uplink data of the terminal device based on the first mapping relationship.

[0099] In one possible design, a non-3GPP access network device receives downlink data from the terminal device; the non-3GPP access network device determines the first connection and / or first flow corresponding to the downlink data based on the session and / or QoS flow corresponding to the downlink data and the first mapping relationship; the non-3GPP access network device sends the downlink data to the terminal device based on the first connection and / or first flow corresponding to the downlink data.

[0100] Through the above design, after receiving the downlink data of the terminal device, the non-3GPP access network device can accurately transmit the downlink data of the terminal device based on the first mapping relationship.

[0101] In one possible design, if the non-3GPP access network device determines that the terminal device and the non-3GPP access network device communicate based on the first protocol, it sends connection establishment information to the terminal device, and the connection establishment information is used to establish a second connection between the terminal device and the non-3GPP access network device. The second connection is used to transmit control signaling between the terminal device and the non-3GPP access network device based on the first protocol.

[0102] Optionally, the second connection may be the same as the first connection.

[0103] Through the above design, a second connection can be established between the non-3GPP access network device and the terminal device, thereby ensuring accurate transmission of signaling between the non-3GPP access network device and the terminal device.

[0104] In one possible design, a non-3GPP access network device receives first capability information sent by the terminal device, where the first capability information is used to indicate that the terminal device supports the first protocol; the non-3GPP access network device sends second capability information to the terminal device, where the second capability information is used to indicate that the non-3GPP access network device supports the first protocol.

[0105] Through the above design, capability negotiation can be performed between the non-3GPP access network device and the terminal device. After determining that both parties support the first protocol, a connection based on the first protocol can be established.

[0106] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, which can be executed by a terminal device or a module (such as a chip) applied to the terminal device. Taking the terminal device executing the method as an example, the method includes: the terminal device sends a second message, and the second message requests to establish a first session; the terminal device receives the user plane connection information sent by the non-3GPP access network device, and the user plane connection information indicates a first mapping relationship, and the first mapping relationship includes at least one of the following: a mapping relationship between the first session and the first connection and / or the first flow, a mapping relationship between one or more QoS flows and the first connection and / or the first flow, and a mapping relationship between the QoS flow in the first session and the first connection and / or the first flow; wherein, the first connection is used to transmit data between the terminal device and the non-3GPP access network device based on a first protocol.

[0107] In one possible design, the first connection is used to transmit control signaling of the first session and the terminal device.

[0108] In one possible design, the first mapping relationship includes a mapping relationship between the first session and the first flow; the user plane connection information includes identification information of the first flow.

[0109] Optionally, the user plane connection information may further include a session identifier of the first session.

[0110] In one possible design, the first mapping relationship includes a mapping relationship between the QoS flow in the first session and the first flow; the user plane connection information includes identification information of the QoS flow in the first session and identification information of the first flow.

[0111] Optionally, the user plane connection information may further include a session identifier of the first session.

[0112] In one possible design, the first connection is used to transmit one or more sessions of the terminal device, where the one or more sessions include the first session, and the first session corresponds to the first stream.

[0113] In one possible design, the first mapping relationship includes a mapping relationship between the first session and the first connection and the first stream; the user plane connection information includes identification information of the first stream; or the user plane connection information includes information indicating the first connection and identification information of the first stream.

[0114] Optionally, the user plane connection information may further include a session identifier of the first session.

[0115] In one possible design, the first connection is used to transmit one or more sessions of the terminal device, where the one or more sessions include the first session, and the first flow is used to transmit one or more QoS flows in the first session.

[0116] In one possible design, the first mapping relationship includes a mapping relationship between a QoS flow in the first session and the first connection and the first flow;

[0117] The user plane connection information includes identification information of the QoS flow in the first session and identification information of the first flow, or the user plane connection information includes information indicating the first connection, identification information of the QoS flow in the first session and identification information of the first flow.

[0118] Optionally, the user plane connection information may further include a session identifier of the first session.

[0119] In one possible design, the first connection is used to transmit the first session.

[0120] In one possible design, the first flow is used to transmit one or more QoS flows of the first session.

[0121] In one possible design, the first mapping relationship includes a mapping relationship between the first session and the first connection; and the user plane connection information includes information indicating the first connection.

[0122] Optionally, the user plane connection information may further include a session identifier of the first session.

[0123] In one possible design, the first mapping relationship includes a mapping relationship between the QoS flow in the first session and the first connection and the first flow; the user plane connection information includes information indicating the first connection, identification information of the QoS flow of the first session, and identification information of the first flow.

[0124] Optionally, the user plane connection information may further include a session identifier of the first session.

[0125] In one possible design, the first connection is used to transmit one or more QoS flows in the first session, where the one or more sessions include the first session.

[0126] In one possible design, the first mapping relationship includes a mapping relationship between the QoS flow of the first session and the first connection; the user plane connection information includes information indicating the first connection and identification information of the QoS flow of the first session.

[0127] Optionally, the user plane connection information may further include a session identifier of the first session.

[0128] In one possible design, the first connection is used to transmit the same QoS flow in one or more sessions of the terminal device, and the one or more sessions include the first session.

[0129] In one possible design, the first mapping relationship includes a mapping relationship between one or more QoS flows of the terminal device and the first connection; the user plane connection information includes identification information of the QoS flow, or the user plane connection information includes identification information of the QoS flow and information indicating the first connection.

[0130] In one possible design, the first connection is used to transmit the same QoS flow in one or more sessions of the terminal device, the one or more sessions include the first session, and the first flow is used to transmit the first session.

[0131] In one possible design, the first mapping relationship includes a mapping relationship between the QoS flow in the first session and the first connection and the first data flow; the user plane connection information includes identification information of the QoS flow in the first session and identification information of the first flow, or the user plane connection information includes identification information of the QoS flow in the first session, information indicating the first connection, and identification information of the first flow.

[0132] Optionally, the user plane connection information may further include a session identifier of the first session.

[0133] In a fifth aspect, a communication device is provided, which may be the aforementioned non-3GPP access network device or terminal device. The communication device may include a communication module and a processing module to implement any of the aforementioned aspects 1 to 4, or any possible implementation of the aforementioned aspects 1 to 4. The communication module is configured to perform transceiver operations, such as functions related to sending and receiving; the communication module may be referred to as a transceiver unit; optionally, the communication module includes a receiving module and a sending module. The processing module is configured to perform processing operations.

[0134] In one design, the communication device is a communication chip, the processing module may be one or more processors or processor cores, and the communication module may be an input / output circuit, an input / output interface, or an antenna port of the communication chip.

[0135] In another design, the communication module may be a transmitter and a receiver, or the communication module may be a transmitter and a receiver.

[0136] Optionally, the communication device further includes modules that can be used to execute any one of the first to fourth aspects above, or execute any possible implementation of the first to fourth aspects.

[0137] In a sixth aspect, a communication device is provided, which may be the aforementioned non-3GPP access network device or terminal device. The communication device may include a processor and a memory to perform any aspect of the above-mentioned first to fourth aspects, or perform any possible implementation of the first to fourth aspects. Optionally, it also includes a transceiver, the memory is used to store a computer program or instruction, and the processor is used to call and run the computer program or instruction from the memory. When the processor executes the computer program or instruction in the memory, the communication device performs any aspect of the above-mentioned first to fourth aspects, or performs any possible implementation of the first to fourth aspects.

[0138] Optionally, there are one or more processors and one or more memories.

[0139] Optionally, the memory may be integrated with the processor, or the memory may be provided separately from the processor.

[0140] Optionally, the transceiver may include a transmitter (transmitter) and a receiver (receiver).

[0141] In a seventh aspect, a communication device is provided. This communication device may be the aforementioned non-3GPP access network device or terminal device. The communication device may include a processor to perform any of the aforementioned aspects 1 to 4, or any possible implementation of the aforementioned aspects 1 to 4. The processor is coupled to a memory. Optionally, the communication device also includes a memory. Optionally, the communication device also includes a communication interface, and the processor is coupled to the communication interface.

[0142] In one implementation, when the communication device is a non-3GPP access network device or a terminal device, the communication interface may be a transceiver or an input / output interface. Alternatively, the transceiver may be a transceiver circuit. Alternatively, the input / output interface may be an input / output circuit.

[0143] In another implementation, when the communication device is a chip or a chip system, the communication interface may be an input / output interface, an interface circuit, an output circuit, an input circuit, a pin, or related circuits on the chip or chip system. The processor may also be embodied as a processing circuit or a logic circuit.

[0144] In an eighth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, in which a computer program or instruction is stored. When the computer program or instruction is executed by a processor, any aspect of the above-mentioned first to fourth aspects, or any possible implementation method thereof, is implemented.

[0145] In a ninth aspect, a computer program product storing instructions is provided, which, when executed by a processor, implements any one of the first to fourth aspects above, or any possible implementation manner thereof.

[0146] In a tenth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising a processor and a storage medium storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, implement any of the first to fourth aspects described above, or any possible implementation thereof. The communication device may be a system-on-a-chip. The system-on-a-chip may consist of a chip or may include a chip and other discrete components.

[0147] In the eleventh aspect, a communication system is also provided, which includes the non-3GPP access network device described in the first or third aspect and the terminal device described in the second or fourth aspect.

[0148] In the twelfth aspect, the present application also provides a chip, including a processor, which is coupled to a memory and is used to read and execute program instructions stored in the memory, so that the chip can implement any aspect of the above-mentioned first to fourth aspects, or any possible implementation method thereof.

[0149] For each of the above-mentioned aspects from the third to the twelfth aspects and the technical effects that may be achieved by each of the aspects, please refer to the above-mentioned description of the technical effects that can be achieved by various possible solutions in the first aspect or the second aspect, or each aspect, and no further details will be given here. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0150] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of a protocol stack structure provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0151] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of the format of a QUIC data packet provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0152] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of an untrusted non-3GPP access system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0153] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of a trusted non-3GPP access system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0154] FIG5 is a flow chart of a method for selecting an access network device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0155] FIG6 is a flow chart of a registration and connection method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0156] FIG7 is a flow chart of a method for selecting an access network device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0157] FIG8 is a flow chart of a method for selecting an access network device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0158] FIG9 is a flow chart of a registration and connection method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0159] FIG10 is a flow chart of a session management method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0160] FIG11 is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0161] FIG12 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0162] FIG13 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0163] In order to facilitate understanding of the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application, the technical terms involved in the present application are explained and illustrated below.

[0164] 1. QUIC protocol:

[0165] The QUIC protocol is a low-latency Internet transport layer protocol based on UDP, and is a transport protocol equivalent to the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP). As shown in the protocol stack structure in Figure 1, because the QUIC protocol is built on the UDP protocol, it has greater room for customization and optimization compared to other protocols such as SPDY and HTTP2 that are built on the TCP protocol. On top of the UDP protocol, the QUIC protocol provides reliable, orderly, secure, and faster transmission services. Currently, a large number of business requests and responses are carried by QUIC, making the QUIC protocol a new generation of transport layer protocol.

[0166] The format of a QUIC data packet can be shown in Figure 2. A QUIC data packet can include two parts: a message header and message content. The message header can include flags, a connection ID (CID) (the connection ID is optional), a QUIC version (version) (for example, this field can be carried in messages sent by the client), a diversification nonce, and a packet number. The message content can be encrypted ciphertext and can encapsulate frame data of multiple streams. The frame can include a type, a stream ID, an offset value, a data length, and stream data.

[0167] 2. QUIC connection and connection identification:

[0168] One or more QUIC connections can be established between the terminal device and the access network device. QUIC connections can be distinguished by QUIC connection identifiers (such as Connection IDs). In each QUIC connection, one or more data packets can be transmitted, and the order of the data packets is identified by Packet Numbers. For each data packet, it can contain one or more different frames. Among them, the more common frames are stream frames, which are a reliable transmission and are identified by stream IDs. In addition, there are datagram frames, which are unreliable transmissions.

[0169] 3. PDU session:

[0170] One of the key tasks of 5GS session management is to provide data connection to DN for terminal devices. In order to establish a connection between terminal devices and DN, a PDU session needs to be established. A PDU session is a logical connection between a terminal device and a specific DN, which provides the terminal device with a user plane connection to the DN. Among them, "PDU" is the basic user protocol type carried by the PDU session, which can be an IP data packet or an Ethernet frame, depending on the PDU session type. 5GS currently supports three PDU session types, including IP-based PDU session type, Ethernet PDU session type, and unstructured PDU session type. The "PDU" carried by the IP-based PDU session is an IP data packet, and the "PDU" carried by the Ethernet PDU session is an Ethernet frame. For unstructured PDU sessions, 5GS does not interpret the "PDU" it carries.

[0171] During the PDU session establishment process, the corresponding user plane connection between the terminal device and the DN will be activated. The user plane connection provides the transmission of PDUs between the terminal device and the DN, carrying actual data, such as voice and video. A terminal device can request to establish multiple PDU sessions simultaneously. These multiple PDU sessions can be connected to different DNs respectively. For example, if the UE requires both Internet connectivity and IMS services, a PDU session from the terminal device to the Internet and a PDU session from the terminal device to the IMS can be established simultaneously. In addition, a terminal device can also request to establish multiple PDU sessions to a single DN at the same time.

[0172] 4. Quality of service (QoS):

[0173] QoS aims to provide end-to-end service quality assurance tailored to the diverse needs of various services. QoS is a tool for effectively utilizing network resources, allowing different traffic types to compete unequally for network resources. Voice, video, and critical data applications receive priority service within network devices. Factors influencing network quality include bandwidth, latency, jitter, and packet loss rate, all of which can be used as QoS metrics.

[0174] Among them, QoS management is supported in both NSA (Non-Standalone) and SA (Standalone) networking, but in SA networking, the concept of bearer is not used between the access network device and the core network. Instead, the evolved packet system (EPS) bearer in the NSA network becomes a QoS flow. Each QoS flow is identified by a QoS flow ID (QFI). Within a PDU session, the QFI of each QoS Flow is unique. The core network will notify the access network device of the identifier (5G QoS identifier, 5QI) corresponding to each QoS flow to determine its QoS attributes. When establishing a connection between a terminal device and an access network device, the access network device needs to map the QoS flow to the access network resources, thereby realizing data transmission between the terminal device, the access network device, and the core network.

[0175] 5. Non-3GPP access type:

[0176] Non-3GPP access types include untrusted non-3GPP access (for example, accessing the core network through a wireless access node purchased by an individual), trusted non-3GPP access (for example, accessing the core network through a wireless access node deployed by an operator), and wireline access.

[0177] Non-3GPP access technologies may include wireless communication technologies (WiFi), Bluetooth, or ZigBee.

[0178] The non-3GPP access network equipment may include a non-3GPP interworking function (N3IWF), a trusted non-3GPP gateway function (TNGF), a trusted non-3GPP access point (TNAP), a trusted wireless local area network interworking function (TWIF), and a wireline access gateway function (W-AGF). Among them, W-AGF may also be referred to as AGF. Exemplarily, if the access technology is a non-trusted non-3GPP access technology, the corresponding non-3GPP access network equipment may include an N3IWF, whose network topology is equivalent to the radio access network (RAN) in the 3GPP access network, and may support N2 and N3 interfaces. Exemplarily, if the access technology is a trusted non-3GPP access technology, the corresponding non-3GPP access network equipment may include a TNGF, whose network topology is equivalent to the RAN in the 3GPP access network, and may support N2 and N3 interfaces.

[0179] The technology provided in the embodiments of the present application can be applied to scenarios where a terminal device accesses a core network via a 3GPP access type or a non-3GPP access type. The non-3GPP access type includes an untrusted non-3GPP access technology and a trusted non-3GPP access technology as an example for illustration.

[0180] Figure 3 shows a schematic diagram of an untrusted non-3GPP access system provided by an embodiment of the present application, where the access network device in the non-3GPP access network is an N3IWF. The terminal device first establishes a connection with the untrusted non-3GPP access point, obtains an Internet Protocol (IP) address, and then obtains the IP identification information of the N3IWF, such as its address information, from a DNS server based on the N3IWF discovery and selection criteria. The terminal device accesses the core network through the N3IWF.

[0181] Figure 4 shows a schematic diagram of a trusted non-3GPP access system provided by an embodiment of the present application. For example, a WiFi AP deployed in a public place, for example, uses the TNGF as an example of an access network device in a non-3GPP access network. The terminal device first selects a PLMN and then selects a non-3GPP access network within that PLMN that provides a trusted connection. The terminal device then selects a connection type (e.g., 5G connectivity or 4G S2a connectivity).

[0182] The functions of the respective devices shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 are described below.

[0183] The untrusted non-3GPP access point may be an access node not deployed by an operator, such as a WiFi access point (AP) deployed at home or in a business.

[0184] N3IWF can be used to allow non-3GPP technologies to interconnect terminal devices and the 3GPP core network. N3IWF supports N2 interface communication with mobility management equipment and N3 interface communication with user plane equipment.

[0185] The trusted non-3GPP access point may be an access node deployed by an operator, and may be referred to as a trusted non-3GPP access point (TNAP).

[0186] TNAP can be used to send authentication, authorization, and accounting (AAA) messages. For example, it can encapsulate extensible authentication protocol (EAP) packets in AAA messages and interact with TNGF, which can be used to forward EAP messages.

[0187] TNGF can be used to support N2 interface and N3 interface, can be used to terminate EAP-5G signaling, can realize AMF selection, processing and SMF (relayed by AMF) N2 signaling to support session and service quality (quality of service, QoS), transparent relay protocol data unit (PDU) between terminal equipment and user plane equipment and other functions.

[0188] The 3GPP access point may be an access node deployed by an operator, such as a RAN node.

[0189] The user plane function (UPF) is used to perform functions such as user plane data forwarding, session / flow-level billing statistics, and bandwidth limitation.

[0190] The session management function (SMF) is used to perform session management, control policy execution, user plane function element selection, and terminal Internet Protocol (IP) address allocation.

[0191] The access and mobility management function (AMF) performs mobility management, access authentication / authorization, and other functions. It is also responsible for delivering user policies to terminals.

[0192] Terminal equipment can also be called user equipment (UE), mobile station, mobile terminal, etc. In Figure 1, UE is used to represent terminal equipment. Terminal equipment can be widely used in various scenarios, such as device-to-device (D2D), vehicle to everything (V2X) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), Internet of Things (IOT), virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, autonomous driving, telemedicine, smart grid, smart furniture, smart office, smart wearable, smart transportation, smart city, etc. The terminal can be a mobile phone, tablet computer, computer with wireless transceiver function, wearable device, vehicle, drone, helicopter, airplane, ship, robot, robotic arm, smart home device, etc. The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form adopted by the terminal device.

[0193] The message or information names in the embodiments of the present application are merely examples of the present application. The message or information names may also be other names, which are not limited to the embodiments of the present application.

[0194] In the embodiment of the present application, the “flow” can be understood as stream. In a possible implementation, the “flow” in the embodiment of the present application can be understood or replaced by other information with finer granularity than the connection granularity.

[0195] In the embodiment of the present application, the connection used to transmit a session can be understood as the connection used to transmit the service flow corresponding to the session. For example, the connection used to transmit a first session can be understood as the connection used to transmit the service flow corresponding to the first session.

[0196] In the embodiments of the present application, "at least one" refers to one or more, and "more" refers to two or more. "And / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships may exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: the existence of A alone, the existence of A and B at the same time, and the existence of B alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates that the previous and next associated objects are in an "or" relationship. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b and (or) c can represent: a, b, c, a and b, a and c, b and c, or a, b and c, where each of a, b, c can be an element itself, or a set containing one or more elements.

[0197] Throughout this application, the terms "exemplary," "in some embodiments," and "in other embodiments" are used to indicate examples, illustrations, or descriptions. Any embodiment or design described in this application as "exemplary" should not be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or designs. Rather, the use of the word "exemplary" is intended to present concepts in a concrete manner.

[0198] In this application, the terms "of," "corresponding," and "relevant" may be used interchangeably. It should be noted that, unless the distinction is emphasized, the meanings they convey are the same. In the embodiments of this application, the terms "communication" and "transmission" may be used interchangeably. It should be noted that, unless the distinction is emphasized, the meanings they convey are the same. For example, "transmission" may include "send" and "receive" and may be either a noun or a verb.

[0199] In this application, "indication" may include direct indication, indirect indication, explicit indication, and implicit indication. When describing that a certain indication information is used to indicate A, it can be understood that the indication information carries A, directly indicates A, or indirectly indicates A.

[0200] It should be pointed out that the words "first", "second", etc. involved in the embodiments of the present application are only used for the purpose of distinguishing the description, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance, nor can they be understood as indicating or implying order.

[0201] The terminal device can access the network through a 3GPP access network device or a non-3GPP access network device. When a connection based on a first protocol is established between the terminal device and the non-3GPP access network device to transmit signaling and / or user plane data, how the terminal device discovers the non-3GPP access network device that supports the connection based on the first protocol becomes a problem that needs to be solved.

[0202] In view of this, an embodiment of the present application provides a method for selecting an access network device. As shown in Figure 5, an exemplary flow chart of a method for selecting an access network device provided in an embodiment of the present application may include the following operations. The embodiment shown in Figure 5 can be applied to an untrusted non-3GPP access system, such as the communication system shown in Figure 3.

[0203] Step 500: The terminal device sends third information to a domain name server (DNS).

[0204] Correspondingly, the domain name server receives the third information sent by the terminal device.

[0205] The third information is used to instruct to query a non-3GPP access network device that supports the first protocol.

[0206] Exemplarily, the first protocol may be the QUIC protocol; the third information is used to indicate a query for a non-3GPP access network device that supports the QUIC protocol. In one possible implementation, the first protocol may be a transport layer protocol or an IP layer protocol. This application does not limit the specific protocol to which the first protocol corresponds.

[0207] Optionally, the third information may be carried in a query message, where the query request is used to instruct to query a non-3GPP access network device.

[0208] The query message may include domain name information, such as a full qualified domain name (FQDN); the domain name information may include a public land mobile network (PLMN) ID or a SNPN ID.

[0209] One possible implementation is to add third information to the domain name information; for example, the third information can be included in a field of the domain name information. By adding the third information to the domain name information, the terminal device indicates that the terminal device is requesting to query a non-3GPP access network device that supports the first protocol. For example, when the first protocol is the QUIC protocol, the third information can be a QUIC label, thereby indicating that the terminal device needs to query a non-3GPP access network device that supports the QUIC protocol.

[0210] Step 501: The domain name server determines a non-3GPP access network device that supports a first protocol.

[0211] After receiving the third information, the domain name server selects a non-3GPP access network device that supports the first protocol from the candidate non-3GPP access network devices.

[0212] Exemplarily, when the third information is included in the domain name information, the domain name server may determine whether an Internet Protocol (IP) address or identification information of an access network device corresponding to the domain name information exists; if so, the access network device corresponding to the IP address or identification information of the domain name information (e.g., FQDN) is determined to be a non-3GPP access network device supporting the first protocol. Accordingly, if it is determined that an access network device corresponding to the IP address or identification information of the domain name information (e.g., FQDN) does not exist, it does not indicate that a non-3GPP access network device supporting the first protocol has been determined.

[0213] Step 502: The domain name server sends information about non-3GPP access network devices that support the first protocol to the terminal device.

[0214] Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the information of the non-3GPP access network device supporting the first protocol sent by the domain name server.

[0215] Optionally, the information of the non-3GPP access network device supporting the first protocol may include: identification information of the non-3GPP access network device and / or an IP address of the non-3GPP access network device.

[0216] Optionally, the domain name server may carry information about the non-3GPP access network device supporting the first protocol in a query response message. The domain name server sends a query response message to the terminal device, where the query response message includes information about the non-3GPP access network device supporting the first protocol, such as identification information of the non-3GPP access network device and / or the IP address of the non-3GPP access network device.

[0217] Based on the process of the access network device selection method provided in the embodiment of the present application, the terminal device can query the domain name server for non-3GPP access network devices that support the first protocol. For example, when the access network device in the untrusted non-3GPP access system is an N3IWF, the terminal device can query the domain name server for N3IWFs that support the first protocol.

[0218] In addition, for an untrusted non-3GPP access system, the terminal device may determine information of a non-3GPP access network device that supports the first protocol through the first configuration information.

[0219] Optionally, the first configuration information may be pre-configured in the terminal device, and the first configuration information includes information about the non-3GPP access network device that supports the first protocol. Exemplarily, the first configuration information includes domain name information (such as FQDN) of the non-3GPP access network device that supports the first protocol, an IP address of the non-3GPP access network device that supports the first protocol, and identification information of the non-3GPP access network device that supports the first protocol.

[0220] According to an access network device selection method provided in an embodiment of the present application, a terminal device can determine a non-3GPP access network device that supports a first protocol based on first configuration information. For example, when the access network device in an untrusted non-3GPP access system is an N3IWF, the terminal device can determine the N3IWF that supports the first protocol based on the FQDN, IP address, or identification information of the N3IWF that supports the first protocol contained in the first configuration information.

[0221] After the terminal device determines the non-3GPP access network device that supports the first protocol based on the above-mentioned access network device selection method, it can register with the core network through the non-3GPP access network device that supports the first protocol and establish a connection with the non-3GPP access network device in the process.

[0222] In the following description, the connection between the terminal device and the non-3GPP access network device may be a connection based on the first protocol. For example, when the first protocol is the QUIC protocol, the connection between the terminal device and the non-3GPP access network device is a QUIC connection.

[0223] The following describes the registration process and connection establishment process in conjunction with Figure 6.

[0224] Step 600: The terminal device sends a first message to a non-3GPP access network device.

[0225] Correspondingly, the non-3GPP access network device receives the first message sent by the terminal device.

[0226] Optionally, the first message includes a NAS message, which may be a registration request message; wherein the registration request message may be used to indicate that the terminal device requests registration with the core network.

[0227] Exemplarily, the first message may be an extensible authentication protocol (EAP) message.

[0228] When the terminal device determines that the currently accessed non-3GPP access network device supports the first protocol, the terminal device may indicate through a first message that a connection based on the first protocol needs to be established.

[0229] In one possible implementation, the first message sent by the terminal device to the non-3GPP access network device may not be encapsulated using the IKEv2 protocol, indicating that an IPSec tunnel (or connection) is not established with the non-3GPP access network device, or indicating that a connection based on the first protocol is established.

[0230] For example, when the first protocol is the QUIC protocol, the first message sent by the terminal device to the non-3GPP access network device may not be encapsulated using the IKEv2 protocol. Accordingly, after the non-3GPP access network device receives the first message, the non-3GPP access network device may determine that the terminal device needs to establish a QUIC connection.

[0231] In another case, if the terminal device does not determine whether the accessed non-3GPP access network device supports the first protocol (for example, the terminal device does not determine the non-3GPP access network device that supports the first protocol through the above process), the terminal device can attempt to establish a connection based on the first protocol with the non-3GPP access network device.

[0232] Exemplarily, when the first protocol is the QUIC protocol, the terminal device sends a first message that is not encapsulated using the IKEv2 protocol to the non-3GPP access network device. When the non-3GPP access network device supports the QUIC protocol, the non-3GPP access network device processes the received first message accordingly. When the non-3GPP access network device does not support the QUIC protocol, the non-3GPP access network device may send a rejection message to the terminal device to indicate that the non-3GPP access network device does not support the QUIC protocol.

[0233] Optionally, the NAS message may include access network (AN) parameters. The AN parameters may include parameters for non-3GPP access network devices to select an AMF network element. For example, the AN parameters may include, but are not limited to, a globally unique AMF identifier (GUAMI) and a PLMN ID. Alternatively, the AN parameters may include, but are not limited to, a GUAM, an IPLMN ID, and a network identification code (NID).

[0234] Step 601: The non-3GPP access network device selects an AMF network element and sends a registration request message to the AMF network element.

[0235] Optionally, the non-3GPP access network device can select an AMF network element based on the AN parameters carried in the NAS message in the first message.

[0236] Among them, the NAS message (such as a registration request message) sent by the non-3GPP access network device to the AMF network element may be the NAS message (such as a registration request message) in the first message.

[0237] Step 602: The AMF network element performs security authentication.

[0238] Exemplarily, the security authentication process may include: the AMF network element selects the AUSF network element and sends an authentication request message to the AUSF network element. The AUSF network element performs an authentication process on the terminal device and obtains authentication data from the UDM network element; wherein the data packet related to the authentication can be encapsulated through a NAS message, and the NAS message can be encapsulated through an EAP / 5G-NAS data packet. After the authentication is completed, the AUSF network element sends a security key to the AMF network element, and the AMF network element can derive the security key of the non-3GPP access network device based on the security key; wherein the security key of the non-3GPP access network device can be used to encrypt the connection established between the terminal device and the non-3GPP access network device based on the first protocol.

[0239] Step 603: The AMF network element sends a second message to the non-3GPP access network device.

[0240] Correspondingly, the non-3GPP access network device receives the second message sent by the AMF network element.

[0241] The second message may include a security key of the non-3GPP access network device. After a connection is established between the terminal device and the non-3GPP access network device based on the first protocol, when data and / or signaling are sent through the established connection, the security key of the non-3GPP access network device may be used to encrypt the sent data and / or signaling.

[0242] Exemplarily, the second message may be an initial context establishment request message.

[0243] Step 604: The non-3GPP access network device sends connection establishment information to the terminal device.

[0244] Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the connection establishment information sent by the non-3GPP access network device.

[0245] The connection establishment information is used to establish a second connection between the terminal device and the non-3GPP access network device, and the second connection can be used to transmit control signaling between the terminal device and the non-3GPP access network device based on the first protocol. Exemplarily, the control signaling can include an AS message (e.g., an RRC message) or a NAS message.

[0246] Exemplarily, the second connection may be a QUIC connection, which may be used to transmit control signaling between a terminal device and a non-3GPP access network device based on the QUIC protocol.

[0247] Optionally, before executing step 604, the non-3GPP access network device determines that the terminal device needs to communicate with the non-3GPP access network device based on the first protocol. In one possible implementation, the first message sent by the terminal device to the non-3GPP access network device may not be encapsulated using the IKEv2 protocol, indicating that an IPSec tunnel (or connection) is not established with the non-3GPP access network device, or indicating that a connection based on the first protocol is established. For example, when the first protocol is the QUIC protocol, if the first message received by the non-3GPP access network device is not encapsulated using the IKEv2 protocol, the non-3GPP access network device may determine that communication with the terminal device is based on the QUIC protocol. At this time, the non-3GPP access network device sends connection establishment information to the terminal device for establishing a QUIC connection with the terminal device.

[0248] After the non-3GPP access network device determines that communication with the terminal device is based on the first protocol, the non-3GPP access network device allocates connection establishment information related to establishing a connection to the terminal device. The non-3GPP access network device sends the connection establishment information to the terminal device, indicating that a connection based on the first protocol has been established between the non-3GPP access network device and the terminal device.

[0249] Optionally, the connection establishment information includes but is not limited to: a connection identifier, IP address information, port information, and a flow identifier. In a possible implementation, the flow identifier can be replaced by a frame identifier, a packet identifier, or other identifier information with a granularity smaller than that of a connection.

[0250] Step 605: The non-3GPP access network device sends a first response message to the AMF network element.

[0251] Correspondingly, the AMF network element receives the first response message sent by the non-3GPP access network device.

[0252] The first response message may be a response message to the second message.

[0253] Exemplarily, when the second message is an initial context establishment request message, the first response message may be an initial context establishment response message.

[0254] Step 606: The AMF network element sends a third message to the non-3GPP access network device.

[0255] Correspondingly, the non-3GPP access network device receives the third message sent by the AMF network element.

[0256] Optionally, the third message may include a registration acceptance message sent to the terminal device. The registration acceptance message may be a NAS message used to indicate acceptance of the registration request of the terminal device.

[0257] Exemplarily, the third message may be an N2 message.

[0258] Step 607: The non-3GPP access network device sends a registration acceptance message to the terminal device.

[0259] Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the registration acceptance message sent by the non-3GPP access network device.

[0260] Among them, the registration acceptance message is used to notify the terminal device that it has been registered with the core network.

[0261] The present application also provides an access network device selection method. As shown in Figure 7, an exemplary flow chart of an access network device selection method provided in an embodiment of the present application may include the following operations. The embodiment shown in Figure 7 can be applied to a trusted non-3GPP access system, such as the communication system shown in Figure 4.

[0262] Step 700: An access node in a trusted non-3GPP access network sends at least one network identifier, wherein the network identifier may be a public network identifier such as a PLMN ID or a non-public network identifier such as an SNPN ID (or a PLMN ID and a NID).

[0263] Optionally, an access node in a trusted non-3GPP access network may send a broadcast message, wherein the broadcast message may include at least one network identifier. Exemplarily, an access node in a trusted non-3GPP access network may broadcast a network list, wherein the network list may include at least one network identifier.

[0264] The at least one network identifier represents a network to which the trusted non-3GPP access network device supports connection.

[0265] Exemplarily, the network identifier may include but is not limited to: PLMN ID, SNPN ID;

[0266] In a possible implementation, an access node in a trusted non-3GPP access network may broadcast a service set identifier (SSID).

[0267] For example, the access node in the trusted non-3GPP access network in step 700 of the embodiment of the present application may be an access node deployed by an operator, which may be referred to as a trusted non-3GPP access node (TNAP).

[0268] Step 701: The terminal device determines a non-3GPP access network that supports a first protocol.

[0269] The terminal device determines the non-3GPP access network that supports the first protocol, which can be understood as determining the TNAN that supports the first protocol, or can be understood as determining the non-3GPP access node (such as TNAP) corresponding to the non-3GPP access network device that supports the first protocol, or can be understood as determining the SSID corresponding to the non-3GPP access network device that supports the first protocol.

[0270] There are many different ways for the terminal device to determine the non-3GPP access network that supports the first protocol, which are explained below.

[0271] Method 1: The terminal device determines the non-3GPP access network that supports the first protocol according to the network identifier sent by the access node in the trusted non-3GPP access network.

[0272] In this manner, when an access node in a trusted non-3GPP access network transmits at least one network identifier, it may indicate whether the network corresponding to the network identifier supports the first protocol, or may indicate whether a non-3GPP access network device in the network corresponding to the network identifier supports the first protocol. Exemplarily, marking information may be added to the at least one network identifier transmitted by the access node in the trusted non-3GPP access network to mark a network that supports the first protocol or to mark a network that does not support the first protocol.

[0273] Based on this approach, the terminal device may select a non-3GPP access network that supports the first protocol according to at least a network identifier sent by an access node in the trusted non-3GPP access network.

[0274] Mode 2: The terminal device determines, according to the second configuration information, the non-3GPP access network that supports the first protocol from at least one network identifier sent by an access node in the trusted non-3GPP access network.

[0275] The second configuration information can be used to configure a non-3GPP access network that supports the first protocol; exemplarily, the second configuration information may include an SSID that supports the first protocol, or a non-3GPP access network device that supports the first protocol (such as TNGF), or an access node in a trusted non-3GPP access network that supports the first protocol (such as TNAP).

[0276] Step 702: The terminal device sends a network access identifier (NAI) to an access node in a non-3GPP access network that supports the first protocol.

[0277] Correspondingly, the access node in the non-3GPP access network supporting the first protocol receives the network access identifier sent by the terminal device.

[0278] NAI indicates a request for 5G connectivity to a specific PLMN. For example, NAI = "<any_username> @nai.5gc.mnc <mnc>.mcc <mcc>.3gppnetwork.org". This NAI triggers the access node in the non-3GPP access network to send an AAA request to the non-3GPP access network device (for example, TNAP sends an AAA request to TNGF). EAP packets between the access node in the non-3GPP access network and the non-3GPP access network device are encapsulated in AAA messages. The AAA request also includes the identifier of the access node in the non-3GPP access network, which can be used as user location information (ULI).

[0279] Optionally, before the terminal device sends the network access identifier to the access node in the non-3GPP access network supporting the first protocol, the terminal device may establish an L2 connection with the access node in the non-3GPP access network. Accordingly, in step 702, the terminal device may send the network access identifier via an L2 message.

[0280] Step 703: The non-3GPP access network device notifies the terminal device to initiate a registration process.

[0281] It can be understood that the non-3GPP access network device notifying the terminal device to initiate a registration process can also be called the non-3GPP access network device notifying the terminal device to initiate an EAP-5G session.

[0282] Optionally, the non-3GPP access network device sends an EAP Request / 5G-Start packet to the terminal device; the EAP-Request / 5G-Start packet can be used to notify the terminal device to initiate an EAP-5G session, for example, to notify the terminal device to start sending NAS messages (by encapsulating the NAS message in an EAP-5G packet).

[0283] When the terminal device establishes an L2 connection with the access node in the non-3GPP access network, the non-3GPP access network device can send an L2 message to the terminal device, and the non-3GPP access network device can send an EAP Request / 5G-Start data packet to the terminal device via the L2 message.

[0284] In addition, an embodiment of the present application also provides an access network device selection method, wherein a terminal device sends first capability information to an access network device in a non-3GPP access network, and the first capability information is used to indicate that the terminal device supports a first protocol; the access network device in the non-3GPP access network sends second capability information to the terminal device, and the second capability information is used to indicate that the non-3GPP access network device supports the first protocol. Based on this method, the terminal device and the access network device in the non-3GPP access network can perform capability negotiation. As shown in Figure 8, an exemplary flowchart of an access network device selection method provided in an embodiment of the present application may include the following operations. It can be applied to a trusted non-3GPP access system, such as the communication system shown in Figure 4.

[0285] Step 800: An access node in a trusted non-3GPP access network sends at least one network identifier.

[0286] In step 800 , the access node in the trusted non-3GPP access network sends at least one network identifier, which can be seen from the introduction of step 700 above.

[0287] Step 801: The terminal device sends a network access identifier (NAI) to an access node in a non-3GPP access network that supports a first protocol.

[0288] In step 801, the terminal device sends a network access identifier to an access node in a non-3GPP access network that supports the first protocol. Please refer to the introduction of step 702 above.

[0289] Step 802: The terminal device sends first capability information to an access node in a non-3GPP access network.

[0290] The first capability information is used to indicate that the terminal device supports the first protocol.

[0291] The access node in the non-3GPP access network sends the first capability information to the non-3GPP access network device.

[0292] The network access identifier in step 801 and the first capability information in step 802 can be sent through the same message or different messages. When the network access identifier and the first capability information are sent through different messages, the embodiment of the present application does not limit the order in which steps 801 and 802 are executed.

[0293] Optionally, before the terminal device sends a network access identifier to an access node in a non-3GPP access network that supports the first protocol, the terminal device may establish an L2 connection with the access node in the non-3GPP access network. Accordingly, the terminal device may send the network access identifier and the first capability information via an L2 message.

[0294] Step 803: The non-3GPP access network device sends second capability information to the terminal device.

[0295] The second capability information is used to indicate that the non-3GPP access network device supports the first protocol.

[0296] Step 804: The non-3GPP access network device notifies the terminal device to initiate a registration process.

[0297] It can be understood that the non-3GPP access network device notifying the terminal device to initiate a registration process can also be called the non-3GPP access network device notifying the terminal device to initiate an EAP-5G session.

[0298] Optionally, the non-3GPP access network device sends an EAP Request / 5G-Start packet to the terminal device; the EAP-Request / 5G-Start packet can be used to notify the terminal device to initiate an EAP-5G session, for example, to notify the terminal device to start sending NAS messages (by encapsulating the NAS message in an EAP-5G packet).

[0299] The second capability information in step 803 and the EAP Request / 5G-Start data packet in step 804 may be sent via the same message or different messages. When the second capability information and the EAP Request / 5G-Start data packet are sent via different messages, the embodiment of the present application does not limit the order in which steps 803 and 804 are executed.

[0300] When the terminal device establishes an L2 connection with the access node in the non-3GPP access network, the non-3GPP access network device can send an L2 message to the terminal device, and the non-3GPP access network device can send an EAP Request / 5G-Start data packet and the second capability information to the terminal device via the L2 message.

[0301] It is worth noting that when the terminal device cannot determine the non-3GPP access network that supports the first protocol through the method in step 701 (for example, the terminal device does not obtain the second configuration information, or when the access node in the trusted non-3GPP access network sends at least one network identifier, it does not indicate whether the network corresponding to the network identifier supports the first protocol), the terminal device can use the process shown in Figure 8 to select a non-3GPP access network device that supports the first protocol.

[0302] After the terminal device determines the non-3GPP access network device that supports the first protocol based on the above-mentioned access network device selection method, it can register with the core network through the non-3GPP access network device that supports the first protocol and establish a connection with the non-3GPP access network device in the process.

[0303] In the following description, the connection between the terminal device and the non-3GPP access network device may be a connection based on the first protocol. For example, when the first protocol is the QUIC protocol, the connection between the terminal device and the non-3GPP access network device is a QUIC connection.

[0304] The following describes the registration process and connection establishment process in conjunction with Figure 9.

[0305] Step 900: The terminal device sends a fifth message to the non-3GPP access network device.

[0306] Correspondingly, the non-3GPP access network device receives the fifth message sent by the terminal device.

[0307] Optionally, the fifth message may be an L2 message.

[0308] Exemplarily, the fifth message may include an EAP-Response / 5G-NAS packet; the EAP-Response / 5G-NAS packet may include a registration request message; wherein the registration request message may be used to instruct the terminal device to request registration with the core network. The EAP-Response / 5G-NAS packet may also include AN parameters. The AN parameters may include parameters for a non-3GPP access network device to select an AMF network element; for example, the AN parameters may include, but are not limited to, GUAMI and PLMN ID; or the AN parameters may include, but are not limited to, GUAMI, IPLMN ID, and NID.

[0309] When the terminal device determines that the currently accessed non-3GPP access network device supports the first protocol, the terminal device may indicate through a first message that a connection based on the first protocol needs to be established.

[0310] In one possible implementation, the first message sent by the terminal device to the non-3GPP access network device may not be encapsulated using the IKEv2 protocol, indicating that an IPSec tunnel (or connection) is not established with the non-3GPP access network device, or indicating that a connection based on the first protocol is established.

[0311] Exemplarily, when the first protocol is the QUIC protocol, the fifth message sent by the terminal device to the non-3GPP access network device may not be encapsulated using the IKEv2 protocol. Accordingly, after the non-3GPP access network device receives the fifth message, the non-3GPP access network device may determine that the terminal device needs to establish a QUIC connection.

[0312] Step 901: The non-3GPP access network device selects an AMF network element and sends a registration request message to the AMF network element.

[0313] Optionally, the non-3GPP access network device can select the AMF network element based on the AN parameter in the fifth message.

[0314] Among them, the NAS message (e.g., registration request message) sent by the non-3GPP access network device to the AMF network element may be the NAS message (e.g., registration request message) in the fifth message.

[0315] Step 902: The AMF network element performs security authentication.

[0316] It should be noted that the process of the AMF network element performing security authentication in step 902 can be found in the introduction to step 602 above.

[0317] Step 903: The AMF network element sends a sixth message to the non-3GPP access network device.

[0318] Correspondingly, the non-3GPP access network device receives the sixth message sent by the AMF network element.

[0319] The sixth message may include a security key of the non-3GPP access network device. After a connection is established between the terminal device and the non-3GPP access network device based on the first protocol, when data and / or signaling is sent through the established connection, the security key of the non-3GPP access network device may be used to encrypt the sent data and / or signaling.

[0320] Exemplarily, the sixth message may be an initial context establishment request message.

[0321] Step 904: The non-3GPP access network device sends connection establishment information to the terminal device.

[0322] Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the connection establishment information sent by the non-3GPP access network device.

[0323] The connection establishment information is used to establish a second connection between the terminal device and the non-3GPP access network device, and the second connection can be used to transmit control signaling between the terminal device and the non-3GPP access network device based on the first protocol. Exemplarily, the control signaling can include an AS message (e.g., an RRC message) or a NAS message.

[0324] Exemplarily, the second connection may be a QUIC connection, which may be used to transmit control signaling between a terminal device and a non-3GPP access network device based on the QUIC protocol.

[0325] Optionally, before executing step 904, the non-3GPP access network device determines that the terminal device needs to communicate with the non-3GPP access network device based on the first protocol. In one possible implementation, the fifth message sent by the terminal device to the non-3GPP access network device may not be encapsulated using the IKEv2 protocol, indicating that an IPSec tunnel (or connection) is not established with the non-3GPP access network device, or indicating that a connection based on the first protocol is established. For example, when the first protocol is the QUIC protocol, if the fifth message received by the non-3GPP access network device is not encapsulated using the IKEv2 protocol, the non-3GPP access network device may determine that communication with the terminal device is based on the QUIC protocol. At this time, the non-3GPP access network device sends connection establishment information to the terminal device for establishing a QUIC connection with the terminal device.

[0326] After the non-3GPP access network device determines that communication with the terminal device is based on the first protocol, the non-3GPP access network device allocates connection establishment information related to establishing a connection to the terminal device. The non-3GPP access network device sends the connection establishment information to the terminal device, indicating that a connection based on the first protocol has been established between the non-3GPP access network device and the terminal device.

[0327] Optionally, the connection establishment information includes but is not limited to: a connection identifier, IP address information, port information, and a flow identifier. In a possible implementation, the flow identifier can be replaced by a frame identifier, a packet identifier, or other identifier information with a granularity smaller than that of a connection.

[0328] Step 905: The non-3GPP access network device sends a second response message to the AMF network element.

[0329] Correspondingly, the AMF network element receives the second response message sent by the non-3GPP access network device.

[0330] The second response message may be a response message to the sixth message.

[0331] Exemplarily, when the sixth message is an initial context establishment request message, the second response message may be an initial context establishment response message.

[0332] Step 906: The AMF network element sends the seventh message to the non-3GPP access network device.

[0333] Correspondingly, the non-3GPP access network device receives the seventh message sent by the AMF network element.

[0334] Optionally, the seventh message may include a registration acceptance message sent to the terminal device. The registration acceptance message may be a NAS message used to indicate acceptance of the registration request of the terminal device.

[0335] Exemplarily, the seventh message may be an N2 message.

[0336] Step 907: The non-3GPP access network device sends a registration acceptance message to the terminal device.

[0337] Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the registration acceptance message sent by the non-3GPP access network device.

[0338] Among them, the registration acceptance message is used to notify the terminal device that it has been registered with the core network.

[0339] After the terminal device registers with the core network through a non-3GPP access network device that supports the first protocol, the terminal device can establish a session through the established connection based on the first protocol (such as the second connection established in the above process). The following describes the session management process of an embodiment of the present application in conjunction with Figure 10.

[0340] As shown in Figure 10, a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application may include the following operations. The embodiment shown in Figure 10 may be applied to an untrusted non-3GPP access system or a trusted non-3GPP access system, such as the communication system shown in Figure 3 or Figure 4.

[0341] Step 1000: The terminal device sends the second information.

[0342] The second information requests to establish a first session.

[0343] The second information sent by the terminal device may be a NAS message, or the second information may be information carried in the NAS message indicating the establishment of the first session. The terminal device may send the second information to the core network device via a second connection established with the non-3GPP access network device. Exemplarily, the core network device may be an AMF network element.

[0344] Optionally, the second information may be a session establishment request message, or the second information may be information instructing to establish the first session carried in the session establishment request message.

[0345] The second information may include but is not limited to: session ID, request type, UE requested DNN, and single network slice selection assistance information (S-NSSAI).

[0346] Step 1001: A core network device sends first information to a non-3GPP access network device.

[0347] Correspondingly, the non-3GPP access network device receives the first information sent by the core network device.

[0348] The first information indicates user plane resources for establishing a first session of the terminal device.

[0349] Among them, the core network device in step 1001 can be an AMF network element. The AMF network element receives the first information sent by the SMF network element and sends the first information to the non-3GPP access network device.

[0350] Alternatively, the core network device in step 1001 may be an SMF network element. The SMF network element sends the first information to the non-3GPP access network device through the AMF network element.

[0351] Step 1002: The non-3GPP access network device determines user plane connection information according to the first information, and sends the user plane connection information to the terminal device.

[0352] The user plane connection information may indicate a first mapping relationship.

[0353] The first mapping relationship includes at least one of the following:

[0354] a mapping relationship between the first session and the first connection and / or the first stream;

[0355] a mapping relationship between one or more QoS flows and the first connection and / or the first flow;

[0356] A mapping relationship between the QoS flow in the first session and the first connection and / or the first flow;

[0357] The first connection is used for data transmission between the terminal device and the non-3GPP access network device based on the first protocol.

[0358] Based on the above communication process, when the terminal device establishes a first session through a connection request based on the first protocol, the non-3GPP access network device can accurately map the first session or the QoS flow in the first session to the first connection and / or first flow based on the first protocol between the terminal device and the non-3GPP access network device when creating a user plane connection or user plane resources, thereby accurately transmitting the service data of the terminal device.

[0359] The following describes in detail the solution of the embodiment of the present application in conjunction with the complete process of establishing a session on a terminal device. As shown in Figure 11, a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application may include the following operations. The embodiment shown in Figure 11 can be applied to an untrusted non-3GPP access system or a trusted non-3GPP access system, such as the communication system shown in Figure 3 or Figure 4.

[0360] Step 1100: The terminal device sends a session establishment request message to the AMF network element.

[0361] Correspondingly, the AMF network element receives the session establishment request message sent by the terminal device.

[0362] It should be noted that step 1100 corresponds to step 1000. The second information in step 1000 may be a session establishment request message, or the second information may be information in the session establishment request message.

[0363] The terminal device can send a session establishment request message to the AMF network element through the second connection established with the non-3GPP access network device.

[0364] The session establishment request message may be a NAS message. The session establishment request message may include, but is not limited to: a session ID, a request type, a UE requested data network name (UE requested DNN), and single network slice selection assistance information (S-NSSAI).

[0365] Step 1101: The AMF network element selects the SMF network element and sends a create session context request message to the SMF network element.

[0366] Correspondingly, the SMF network element receives the create session context request message sent by the AMF network element.

[0367] Among them, the create session context request message may include but is not limited to: user permanent identifier (SUPI), terminal device requested data network name (UErequested DNN), session identifier (session ID), and single network slice selection auxiliary information (S-NSSAI).

[0368] Step 1102: The SMF network element obtains session management subscription data from the UDM network element.

[0369] This step is optional.

[0370] Step 1103: The SMF network element sends a create session context response message to the AMF network element.

[0371] Correspondingly, the AMF network element receives the create session context response message sent by the SMF network element.

[0372] Step 1104: The SMF network element selects the UPF network element and establishes a connection with the UPF network element.

[0373] Optionally, the SMF network element establishes an N4 connection with the UPF network element.

[0374] Exemplarily, the SMF network element sends N4 rules to the UPF network element; wherein the N4 rules may include: packet detection rules (Packet Detection Rule, PDR), forwarding action rules (Forwarding Action Rule, FAR) and other rules.

[0375] Step 1105: The SMF network element sends a transmission message to the AMF network element.

[0376] Exemplarily, the transfer message may be an N1N2 message transfer message (Namf_Communication_N1N2MessageTransfer), wherein the N1N2 message transfer message may include information such as a session identifier, N2 interface session management information (N2 SM information), and an N1 interface session management container (N1SM Container).

[0377] Among them: N2 SM information is sent by the SMF network element to the non-3GPP access network device through the AMF network element; the information in the N1SM Container is sent by the SMF network element to the AMF network element to the terminal device (the AMF network element sends the N1SM Container to the terminal device through the NAS message).

[0378] The N1SM Container includes a Session Establishment Accept message. The Session Establishment Accept message may include an IP address allocated to the terminal device, which is used as the source IP address when the terminal device sends an uplink message.

[0379] The N2 SM information includes the QoS profile and the associated QoS flow identifier (QFI). Additionally, the N2 SM Container may also include CN Tunnel info, which includes the tunnel endpoint identifier and / or address information (e.g., IP address) on the UPF side; this information is used by non-3GPP access network devices as the destination address when forwarding uplink messages (or the tunnel endpoint identifier needs to be included in the GTP-U protocol stack message header).

[0380] Step 1106: The AMF network element sends a session request message to the non-3GPP access network device.

[0381] Correspondingly, the non-3GPP access network device receives the session request message sent by the AMF network element.

[0382] Exemplarily, the session request message may be an N2 session request message (e.g., N2PDU Session Request); the session request message may carry N2 SM information and a NAS message that needs to be sent to the terminal device, and the NAS message may include a session identifier and an N1SM Container; wherein, the N2 SM information may include a QoS profile and associated QFI information, or the N2 SM information may also include CN tunnel information.

[0383] It should be noted that step 1106 corresponds to step 1001. The first information in step 1001 may be the session request message in step 1106, or the first information may be information in the session request message in step 1106.

[0384] The session request message may be used to indicate establishing user plane resources for the first session of the terminal device.

[0385] Step 1107: The non-3GPP access network device determines the user plane connection information and sends the user plane connection information to the terminal device.

[0386] In one possible implementation, the non-3GPP access network device determines the user plane connection information based on the information related to the first session (such as QoS profile and QFI) carried in the session request message. In one possible implementation, the user plane connection information of the present application can be understood as user plane resource information. The present application does not limit the name of the user plane connection information, and any information that can indicate the first connection can be understood as user plane connection information.

[0387] The non-3GPP access network device sends user plane connection information to the terminal device, and the first mapping relationship can be indicated by the user plane connection information.

[0388] The first mapping relationship may include a correspondence between at least one of a session and a QoS flow and at least one of a first connection and a flow.

[0389] The first mapping relationship in the embodiment of the present application may include the above-mentioned different information contents. When the information contents included in the first mapping relationship are different, the contents included in the user plane connection information sent by the non-3GPP access network device to the terminal device are also different.

[0390] It should be noted that the user plane connection information sent by the non-3GPP access network device to the terminal device is used to indicate the first mapping relationship. It can be understood that the user plane connection information is used to generate / obtain / construct / compose the first mapping relationship; exemplarily, the terminal device can generate or construct the first mapping relationship by receiving one or more user plane connection information.

[0391] Optionally, the information included in the user plane connection information may be different from the information included in the first mapping relationship. For example, if the first mapping relationship includes a mapping relationship between a session and a first connection, and if the first connection has already been established for transmitting service data of the terminal device, then there is no need to establish the first connection. In this case, the user plane connection information may not include information indicating the first connection.

[0392] The following describes the first mapping relationship and user plane connection information for different situations.

[0393] It is worth noting that in the various scenarios described below, when determining the user plane connection information, the non-3GPP access network device can determine the user plane connection information based on the method described in any scenario. Alternatively, the non-3GPP access network device can determine the user plane connection information based on the third configuration information.

[0394] The third configuration information may be used to configure a mapping rule between a session and a connection and / or a flow, or a mapping rule between a QoS flow in a session and a connection and / or a flow, or a mapping rule between a QoS flow and a connection and / or a flow. Exemplarily, the non-3GPP access network device may determine which of the following situations it currently belongs to based on the third configuration information, and further determine the user plane connection information and the first mapping relationship.

[0395] Scenario 1:

[0396] 1: The first mapping relationship includes a mapping relationship between the first session and the first flow.

[0397] Optionally, this mapping relationship is applicable to an application scenario where a connection based on the first protocol is used to transmit user plane data and control signaling. The user plane data and control signaling are transmitted through different flows; illustratively, sessions are distinguished by different flows.

[0398] When establishing user plane resources for a first session of a terminal device, the non-3GPP access network device needs to allocate a first flow for the first session. The connection for transmitting user plane data and control signaling between the terminal device and the non-3GPP access network device can be the second connection described above. There is no need to establish a new connection based on the first protocol between the terminal device and the non-3GPP access network device. The second connection is used to transmit control signaling for the first session and the terminal device. In this case, the first connection can be understood as the second connection.

[0399] The non-3GPP access network device determines that the user plane connection information includes identification information of the first flow.

[0400] Optionally, the user plane connection information may further include a session identifier of the first session.

[0401] The non-3GPP access network device sends user plane connection information to the terminal device.

[0402] In order to facilitate the accurate transmission of subsequent data and / or signaling, the first mapping relationship that needs to be maintained between the non-3GPP access network device and the terminal device includes: a mapping relationship between one or more sessions of the terminal device and a flow. In one possible implementation, when the user plane connection information includes identification information of the first flow and the session identifier of the first session, the non-3GPP access network device stores the mapping relationship between the first session and the first flow in the first mapping relationship; after the terminal device receives the user plane connection information, it generates (or obtains, or constructs, or composes) the first mapping relationship based on the user plane connection information; illustratively, the terminal device stores the mapping relationship between the first session and the first flow in the first mapping relationship based on the identification information of the first flow and the session identifier of the first session included in the user plane connection information.

[0403] The first mapping relationship that needs to be maintained between the non-3GPP access network device and the terminal device is shown in Table 1, wherein the number of flows and the number of sessions included in Table 1 are only for illustration.

[0404] Table 1

[0405] 2: The first mapping relationship includes a mapping relationship between the QoS flow in the first session and the first flow.

[0406] Optionally, this mapping relationship is applicable to a scenario where a connection based on the first protocol is used to transmit user plane data and control signaling. The user plane data and control signaling are transmitted through different flows; illustratively, QoS flows in a session are distinguished through different flows.

[0407] When establishing user plane resources for a first session of a terminal device, the non-3GPP access network device needs to allocate a first flow to the QoS flow in the first session. The connection for transmitting user plane data and control signaling between the terminal device and the non-3GPP access network device can be the second connection described above. There is no need to establish a new connection based on the first protocol between the terminal device and the non-3GPP access network device. The second connection is used to transmit control signaling for the first session and the terminal device. In this case, the first connection can be understood as the second connection.

[0408] The non-3GPP access network device determines that the user plane connection information includes identification information of the QoS flow in the first session and identification information of the first flow.

[0409] Optionally, the user plane connection information may further include a session identifier of the first session.

[0410] It should be noted that, in the case where the first session includes multiple QoS flows, each QoS flow in the first session may correspond to a different flow, or some QoS flows may correspond to the same flow.

[0411] In order to facilitate the accurate transmission of subsequent data and / or signaling, the first mapping relationship that needs to be maintained between the non-3GPP access network device and the terminal device includes: the mapping relationship between the QoS flow and the flow in one or more sessions of the terminal device. In a possible implementation, when the user plane connection information includes the identification information of the first flow of the QoS flow in the first session, the non-3GPP access network device stores the mapping relationship between the QoS flow in the first session and the first flow in the first mapping relationship; after the terminal device receives the user plane connection information, it generates (or obtains, or constructs, or composes) the first mapping relationship according to the user plane connection information; exemplarily, the terminal device stores the mapping relationship between the QoS flow in the first session and the first flow in the first mapping relationship according to the identification information of the first flow of the QoS flow in the first session included in the user plane connection information.

[0412] The first mapping relationship that needs to be maintained between the non-3GPP access network device and the terminal device is shown in Table 2, wherein the number of flows, the number of sessions, and the number of QoS flows in the session contained in Table 2 are only for illustration.

[0413] Table 2

[0414] Scenario 2:

[0415] 1: The first mapping relationship includes a mapping relationship between the first session, the first connection, and the first flow.

[0416] Optionally, the application scenario applicable to this mapping relationship may be: transmitting control signaling based on the second connection, and transmitting user plane data based on a first connection; illustratively, differentiating sessions through different flows.

[0417] When establishing user plane resources for a first session of a terminal device, the non-3GPP access network device needs to determine whether to establish a first connection and allocate a first flow for the first session. The first connection is used to transmit one or more sessions of the terminal device, the one or more sessions including the first session; and the first session corresponds to the first flow.

[0418] If, when establishing user plane resources for a first session of a terminal device, the non-3GPP access network device determines that the first connection does not need to be established, the non-3GPP access network device determines that the user plane connection information includes identification information of the first flow. Optionally, the user plane connection information may also include a session identifier of the first session.

[0419] If a first connection is not currently established, when establishing user plane resources for a first session of a terminal device, the non-3GPP access network device determines that the first connection needs to be established; the non-3GPP access network device then establishes the first connection. The user plane connection information includes identification information of the first flow and information indicating the first connection; the information indicating the first connection may include at least one of a connection identifier, IP address information, and port information of the first connection. Optionally, the user plane connection information may also include a session identifier of the first session.

[0420] In order to facilitate the accurate transmission of subsequent data and / or signaling, the first mapping relationship that needs to be maintained between the non-3GPP access network device and the terminal device includes: a mapping relationship between one or more sessions of the terminal device and connections and flows. In a possible implementation, when the user plane connection information includes identification information of the first flow, information indicating the first connection, and a session identifier of the first session, the non-3GPP access network device stores the mapping relationship between the first session and the first connection and the first flow in the first mapping relationship; after the terminal device receives the user plane connection information, it generates (or obtains, or constructs, or composes) the first mapping relationship based on the user plane connection information; exemplarily, the terminal device stores the mapping relationship between the first session and the first connection and the first flow in the first mapping relationship based on the identification information of the first flow, the information indicating the first connection, and the session identifier of the first session included in the user plane connection information.

[0421] Table 3 shows a first mapping relationship that needs to be maintained between the non-3GPP access network device and the terminal device, wherein the number of flows and the number of sessions included in Table 3 are only for illustration.

[0422] Table 3

[0423] 2: The first mapping relationship includes a mapping relationship between the QoS flow in the first session, the first connection, and the first flow.

[0424] Optionally, scenarios in which this mapping relationship is applicable may include: transmitting control signaling based on the second connection, and transmitting user plane data based on a first connection; illustratively, differentiating QoS flows in a session through different flows.

[0425] When establishing user plane resources for a first session of a terminal device, the non-3GPP access network device needs to determine whether to establish a first connection and allocate a first flow for a QoS flow in the first session. The first connection is used to transmit one or more sessions of the terminal device, the one or more sessions including the first session; and the first flow is used to transmit one or more QoS flows in the first session.

[0426] If, when establishing user plane resources for a first session of a terminal device, the non-3GPP access network device determines that the first connection does not need to be established, and the non-3GPP access network device determines that the user plane connection information includes identification information of the QoS flow and identification information of the first flow in the first session. Optionally, the user plane connection information may also include a session identifier of the first session.

[0427] If a first connection is not currently established, and the non-3GPP access network device determines that the first connection needs to be established when establishing user plane resources for a first session of a terminal device, the non-3GPP access network device establishes the first connection. The user plane connection information includes identification information of the QoS flow in the first session, identification information of the first flow, and information indicating the first connection. The information indicating the first connection may include at least one of a connection identifier, IP address information, and port information of the first connection. Optionally, the user plane connection information may also include a session identifier for the first session.

[0428] It should be noted that, in the case where the first session includes multiple QoS flows, each QoS flow in the first session may correspond to a different flow, or some QoS flows may correspond to the same flow.

[0429] In order to facilitate the accurate transmission of subsequent data and / or signaling, the first mapping relationship that needs to be maintained between the non-3GPP access network device and the terminal device includes: the mapping relationship between the QoS flow in one or more sessions of the terminal device and the connection and the flow. In a possible implementation, when the user plane connection information includes the identification information of the QoS flow in the first session, the identification information of the first flow and the information indicating the first connection, the non-3GPP access network device stores the mapping relationship between the QoS flow in the first session and the first connection and the first flow in the first mapping relationship; after the terminal device receives the user plane connection information, it generates (or obtains, or constructs, or composes) the first mapping relationship according to the user plane connection information; exemplarily, the terminal device stores the mapping relationship between the QoS flow in the first session and the first connection and the first flow in the first mapping relationship according to the identification information of the QoS flow in the first session, the identification information of the first flow and the information indicating the first connection included in the user plane connection information.

[0430] The first mapping relationship that needs to be maintained between the non-3GPP access network device and the terminal device is shown in Table 4, wherein the number of flows, the number of sessions, and the number of QoS flows in the session contained in Table 4 are only for illustration.

[0431] Table 4

[0432] Scenario 3:

[0433] 1: The first mapping relationship includes a mapping relationship between the first session and the first connection.

[0434] Optionally, the application scenario where this mapping relationship is applicable may be: based on the second connection transmission control signaling, user plane data is transmitted through one or more connections based on the first protocol; exemplarily, the connection for transmitting user plane data is session-granular (it can be understood that different sessions correspond to different connections).

[0435] When establishing user plane resources for a first session of a terminal device, the non-3GPP access network device establishes a first connection for the first session. The first connection is used to transmit the first session.

[0436] The non-3GPP access network device determines that the user plane connection information includes information indicating the first connection; wherein the information indicating the first connection may include at least one of a connection identifier, IP address information, and port information of the first connection. Optionally, the user plane connection information may also include a session identifier of the first session.

[0437] In order to facilitate the accurate transmission of subsequent data and / or signaling, the first mapping relationship that needs to be maintained between the non-3GPP access network device and the terminal device includes: a mapping relationship between one or more sessions of the terminal device and a connection. In one possible implementation, when the user plane connection information includes information indicating the first connection and a session identifier of the first session, the non-3GPP access network device stores the mapping relationship between the first session and the first connection in the first mapping relationship; after the terminal device receives the user plane connection information, it generates (or obtains, or constructs, or composes) the first mapping relationship based on the user plane connection information; illustratively, the terminal device stores the mapping relationship between the first session and the first connection in the first mapping relationship based on the information indicating the first connection and the session identifier of the first session included in the user plane connection information.

[0438] The first mapping relationship that needs to be maintained between the non-3GPP access network device and the terminal device is shown in Table 5, where the number of connections and the number of sessions included in Table 5 are only for reference.

[0439] Table 5

[0440] 2: The first mapping relationship includes a mapping relationship between the QoS flow in the first session, the first connection, and the first flow.

[0441] Optionally, the application scenarios applicable to this mapping relationship may be: transmitting control signaling based on the second connection, and transmitting user plane data based on one or more other connections based on the first protocol; exemplarily, the connection for transmitting user plane data is session-granular (it can be understood that different sessions correspond to different connections), and the QoS flows in the session can be distinguished by different flows.

[0442] When establishing user plane resources for a first session of a terminal device, the non-3GPP access network device establishes a first connection for the first session and allocates a first flow to a QoS flow in the first session. The first connection is used to transmit the first session; the first flow is used to transmit one or more QoS flows of the first session.

[0443] In one possible implementation, the non-3GPP access network device determines that user plane connection information includes information indicating a first connection, identification information of a QoS flow in a first session, and identification information of the first flow; wherein the information indicating the first connection may include at least one of a connection identifier, IP address information, and port information of the first connection. Optionally, the user plane connection information may further include a session identifier of the first session.

[0444] In another possible implementation, the non-3GPP access network device determines that the user plane connection information includes information indicating the first connection, identification information of the QoS flow in the first session, and identification information of the corresponding first flow; wherein the information indicating the first connection may include at least one of a connection identifier, IP address information, and port information of the first connection. Optionally, the user plane connection information may also include a session identifier of the first session.

[0445] In another possible implementation, the non-3GPP access network device determines that the user plane connection information includes identification information of the QoS flow in the first session and identification information of the corresponding first flow; optionally, the user plane connection information may also include a session identifier of the first session.

[0446] It should be noted that, in the case where the first session includes multiple QoS flows, each QoS flow in the first session may correspond to a different flow, or some QoS flows may correspond to the same flow.

[0447] In order to facilitate the accurate transmission of subsequent data and / or signaling, the first mapping relationship that needs to be maintained between the non-3GPP access network device and the terminal device includes: the mapping relationship between the QoS flow in one or more sessions of the terminal device and the connection and the flow. In a possible implementation, when the user plane connection information includes the identification information of the QoS flow in the first session, the identification information of the corresponding first flow and the information indicating the first connection, the non-3GPP access network device stores the mapping relationship between the QoS flow in the first session and the first connection and the first flow in the first mapping relationship; after the terminal device receives the user plane connection information, it generates (or obtains, or constructs, or composes) the first mapping relationship according to the user plane connection information; exemplarily, the terminal device stores the mapping relationship between the QoS flow in the first session and the first connection and the first flow in the first mapping relationship according to the identification information of the QoS flow in the first session, the identification information of the corresponding first flow and the information indicating the first connection included in the user plane connection information.

[0448] The first mapping relationship that needs to be maintained between the non-3GPP access network device and the terminal device is shown in Table 6, where the number of connections, the number of sessions, and the number of QoS flows in the session included in Table 6 are only for reference.

[0449] Table 6

[0450] Scenario 4:

[0451] The first mapping relationship includes a mapping relationship between a QoS flow in the first session and the first connection.

[0452] Optionally, the application scenario where this mapping relationship is applicable may be: based on the second connection transmission control signaling, user plane data is transmitted through one or more connections based on the first protocol; exemplarily, the connection for transmitting user plane data is the QoS flow granularity in the session (it can be understood that different sessions correspond to different connections, and different QoS flows in the same session correspond to different connections; or it can be understood that different QoS flows in different sessions correspond to different connections).

[0453] When establishing user plane resources for a first session of a terminal device, the non-3GPP access network device establishes a first connection for a QoS flow in the first session. The first connection is used to transmit one or more QoS flows in the first session.

[0454] The non-3GPP access network device determines that the user plane connection information includes information indicating the first connection and identification information of the QoS flow in the first session; wherein the information indicating the first connection may include at least one of a connection identifier, IP address information, and port information of the first connection. Optionally, the user plane connection information may also include a session identifier of the first session.

[0455] It is worth noting that, when the first session includes multiple QoS flows, each QoS flow in the first session may correspond to a different first connection, or some QoS flows may correspond to the same first connection.

[0456] In order to facilitate the accurate transmission of subsequent data and / or signaling, the first mapping relationship that needs to be maintained between the non-3GPP access network device and the terminal device includes: the mapping relationship between the QoS flows in one or more sessions of the terminal device and the connection. In one possible implementation, when the user plane connection information includes information indicating the first connection and identification information of the QoS flow in the first session, the non-3GPP access network device stores the mapping relationship between the QoS flow in the first session and the first connection in the first mapping relationship; after the terminal device receives the user plane connection information, it generates (or obtains, or constructs, or composes) the first mapping relationship based on the user plane connection information; exemplarily, the terminal device stores the mapping relationship between the QoS flow in the first session and the first connection in the first mapping relationship based on the information indicating the first connection and identification information of the QoS flow in the first session included in the user plane connection information.

[0457] The first mapping relationship that needs to be maintained between the non-3GPP access network device and the terminal device is shown in Table 7, where the number of connections, the number of sessions, and the number of QoS flows in the session included in Table 7 are only for reference.

[0458] Table 7

[0459] Scenario 5:

[0460] 1: The first mapping relationship includes a mapping relationship between one or more QoS flows and the first connection.

[0461] Optionally, the application scenario where this mapping relationship is applicable may be: based on the second connection transmission control signaling, user plane data is transmitted through one or more connections based on the first protocol; exemplarily, the connection for transmitting user plane data is the QoS flow granularity (it can be understood that different QoS flows correspond to different connections; for example, the connections corresponding to the same QoS flows in different sessions are the same).

[0462] When establishing user plane resources for a first session of a terminal device, the non-3GPP access network device needs to determine whether to establish a first connection for transmitting the same QoS flow in one or more sessions of the terminal device, including the first session.

[0463] The non-3GPP access network device may determine whether to establish the first connection according to the QoS flow included in the first session.

[0464] Exemplarily, if the QoS flows included in the first session are all included in the session established by the terminal device (or the identifiers of the QoS flows included in the session established by the terminal device all include the identifier of the QoS flows included in the first session), the non-3GPP access network device determines that there is no need to establish the first connection. Optionally, the non-3GPP access network device can still send user plane connection information to the terminal device, and the non-3GPP access network device determines that the user plane connection information includes the identification information of the QoS flow. Optionally, the non-3GPP access network device can send user plane connection information through the connection corresponding to the QoS flow, thereby instructing the terminal device to use the connection to transmit the QoS flow of the session.

[0465] As another example, if the QoS flow included in the first session is not included in the session established by the terminal device, the non-3GPP access network device establishes a first connection corresponding to the QoS flow; then the non-3GPP access network device determines that the user plane connection information includes identification information of the QoS flow and information indicating the first connection; wherein, the information indicating the first connection may include at least one of the connection identifier, IP address information and port information of the first connection.

[0466] In order to facilitate the accurate transmission of subsequent data and / or signaling, the first mapping relationship that needs to be maintained between the non-3GPP access network device and the terminal device includes: a mapping relationship between one or more QoS flows and a connection. In one possible implementation, when the user plane connection information includes identification information of the QoS flow and information indicating the first connection, the non-3GPP access network device stores the mapping relationship between the QoS flow and the first connection in the first mapping relationship; after the terminal device receives the user plane connection information, it generates (or obtains, or constructs, or composes) the first mapping relationship based on the user plane connection information; exemplarily, the terminal device stores the mapping relationship between the QoS flow and the first connection in the first mapping relationship based on the identification information of the QoS flow and the information indicating the first connection included in the user plane connection information.

[0467] The first mapping relationship that needs to be maintained between the non-3GPP access network device and the terminal device is shown in Table 8, where the number of flows and the number of sessions included in Table 8 are only for reference.

[0468] Table 8

[0469] 2: The first mapping relationship includes a mapping relationship between one or more QoS flows in the first session and the first connection and the first flow.

[0470] Optionally, this mapping relationship is applicable to scenarios where control signaling is transmitted based on the second connection and user plane data is transmitted through one or more connections based on the first protocol. Exemplarily, the connection for transmitting user plane data is at the QoS flow granularity (it can be understood that different QoS flows correspond to different connections; for example, different sessions have the same connection corresponding to the same QoS flow); sessions can be distinguished by different flows.

[0471] When establishing user plane resources for a first session of a terminal device, the non-3GPP access network device needs to determine whether to establish a first connection and allocate a first flow for the first session. The first connection is used to transmit the same QoS flow in one or more sessions of the terminal device, where the one or more sessions include the first session, and the first flow is used to transmit the first session.

[0472] The non-3GPP access network device may determine whether to establish the first connection according to the QoS flow included in the first session.

[0473] Exemplarily, if all QoS flows included in the first session are included in the session established by the terminal device (or the identifiers of the QoS flows included in the session established by the terminal device all include the identifiers of the QoS flows included in the first session), and the non-3GPP access network device determines that there is no need to establish the first connection, the non-3GPP access network device determines that the user plane connection information includes the identifier information of the QoS flows and the identifier information of the first flow. Optionally, the user plane connection information may also include the session identifier of the first session.

[0474] As another example, if one or more QoS flows included in the first session are not included in the session established by the terminal device (or the identifiers of the QoS flows included in the session established by the terminal device do not include the identifiers of one or more QoS flows in the first session), the non-3GPP access network device establishes a first connection corresponding to the QoS flow; then the non-3GPP access network device determines that the user plane connection information includes identification information of the QoS flow, information indicating the first connection, and identification information of the first flow; wherein the information indicating the first connection may include at least one of the connection identifier, IP address information, and port information of the first connection. Optionally, the user plane connection information may also include a session identifier of the first session.

[0475] In order to facilitate the accurate transmission of subsequent data and / or signaling, the first mapping relationship that needs to be maintained between the non-3GPP access network device and the terminal device includes: the mapping relationship between the QoS flow and the connection and the flow in one or more sessions of the terminal device. In a possible implementation, when the user plane connection information includes the identification information of the QoS flow, the identification information of the first flow and the information indicating the first connection, the non-3GPP access network device stores the mapping relationship between the QoS flow in the first session and the first connection and the first flow in the first mapping relationship; after the terminal device receives the user plane connection information, it generates (or obtains, or constructs, or composes) the first mapping relationship according to the user plane connection information; exemplarily, the terminal device stores the mapping relationship between the QoS flow in the first session and the first connection and the first flow in the first mapping relationship according to the identification information of the QoS flow, the identification information of the first flow and the information indicating the first connection included in the user plane connection information.

[0476] The first mapping relationship that needs to be maintained between the non-3GPP access network device and the terminal device is shown in Table 9, where the number of flows and the number of sessions included in Table 9 are only for reference.

[0477] Table 9

[0478] Step 1108: The terminal device determines a first mapping relationship according to the user plane connection information.

[0479] After the terminal device receives the user plane connection information, when it is determined according to the user plane connection information that a first connection needs to be established, the terminal device establishes a first connection with the non-3GPP access network device.

[0480] Step 1109: The non-3GPP access network device forwards the session establishment accept message to the terminal device.

[0481] The session establishment accept message may be a session establishment accept message carried in the N1SM Container.

[0482] Step 1110: The non-3GPP access network device sends a session response message to the AMF network element.

[0483] The session response message may be a response message to the session request message in step 1106 .

[0484] Exemplarily, the session response message may be an N2 session response message; the N2 session response message may include access network tunnel information (AN Tunnel info) allocated by the non-3GPP access network device, and the access network tunnel information may include the tunnel endpoint identifier and / or address information (such as an IP address) of the non-3GPP access network device, which is used as the destination address of the UPF network element when forwarding downlink data (or the tunnel endpoint identifier needs to be included in the GTP-U protocol stack message header).

[0485] Step 1111: The AMF network element sends a session update session context request to the SMF network element.

[0486] The session update session context request may include access network tunnel information sent by the non-3GPP access network device to the AMF network element.

[0487] Step 1112: The SMF network element sends a notification message to the UPF network element.

[0488] The notification message may include AN tunnel endpoint identification information of the non-3GPP access network device.

[0489] Exemplarily, the SMF network element can send a notification message to the UPF network element through the N4 session modification process.

[0490] Step 1113: The SMF network element sends a session update session context response message to the AMF network element.

[0491] In an embodiment of the present application, after one or more sessions of the terminal device are established based on the above method (one or more sessions include the first session mentioned above), data can be transmitted between the terminal device and the core network based on the established PDU session.

[0492] For uplink data sent by terminal devices:

[0493] The terminal device obtains the uplink data to be sent, determines the first connection and / or first flow corresponding to the uplink data based on the session and / or QoS flow corresponding to the uplink data, and the first mapping relationship; and sends the uplink data to the non-3GPP access network device based on the first connection and / or first flow corresponding to the uplink data.

[0494] After the non-3GPP access network device receives the uplink data sent by the terminal device, it determines the session and / or QoS flow corresponding to the uplink data based on the first connection and / or first flow used to send the uplink data and the first mapping relationship, and uses the corresponding QoS flow and / or corresponding N3 tunnel (or GTP-U tunnel) to send the uplink data to the UPF network element.

[0495] The first mapping relationship may be any mapping relationship maintained by the terminal device and the non-3GPP access network device mentioned above.

[0496] It should be noted that when different flows are used to distinguish different QoS flows, only the same flow can be included in a data packet of the first connection, thereby avoiding placing the flows corresponding to different QoS flows in the same data packet and failing to achieve differentiated QoS processing.

[0497] For downlink data of terminal devices:

[0498] The UPF network element obtains the downlink data of the terminal device, and the UPF network element can determine the QoS flow corresponding to the downlink data according to the N4 rule; and send the downlink data to the non-3GPP access network device according to the QoS flow corresponding to the downlink data.

[0499] The non-3GPP access network device receives downlink data and determines a session and / or QoS flow corresponding to the downlink data.

[0500] Exemplarily, the non-3GPP access network device may receive downlink data based on the N3 interface; the non-3GPP access network device may determine the session and / or QoS flow corresponding to the downlink data based on the N3 tunnel endpoint identifier and the QoS flow information in the GTP-U.

[0501] The non-3GPP access network device determines the first connection and / or first flow corresponding to the downlink data based on the session and / or QoS flow corresponding to the downlink data and the first mapping relationship, and sends the downlink data to the terminal device based on the first connection and / or first flow corresponding to the downlink data.

[0502] The first mapping relationship may be any mapping relationship maintained by the terminal device and the non-3GPP access network device mentioned above.

[0503] Based on the same concept, referring to FIG12 , an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device 1200, which includes a processing module 1201 and a communication module 1202. The communication device 1200 may be a non-3GPP access network device, or a communication device applied to a non-3GPP access network device or used in conjunction with a non-3GPP access network device to implement a communication method executed on the non-3GPP access network device side; or the communication device 1200 may be a terminal device, or a communication device applied to a terminal device or used in conjunction with a terminal device to implement a communication method executed on the terminal device side.

[0504] The communication module may also be referred to as a transceiver module, transceiver, transceiver, or transceiver device. The processing module may also be referred to as a processor, processing board, processing unit, or processing device. Optionally, the communication module is used to perform the sending and receiving operations of the non-3GPP access network device or terminal device in the above method. The device used to implement the receiving function in the communication module can be considered a receiving unit, and the device used to implement the sending function in the communication module can be considered a sending unit. That is, the communication module includes a receiving unit and a sending unit.

[0505] When the communication device 1200 is applied to a non-3GPP access network device, the processing module 1201 may be used to implement the processing function of the non-3GPP access network device described in the embodiments shown in Figures 6 to 11, and the communication module 1202 may be used to implement the transceiver function of the non-3GPP access network device described in the embodiments shown in Figures 6 to 11.

[0506] When the communication apparatus 1200 is applied to a terminal device, the processing module 1201 can be used to implement the processing function of the terminal device described in the embodiments shown in Figures 5 to 11, and the communication module 1202 can be used to implement the transceiver function of the terminal device described in the embodiments shown in Figures 5 to 11.

[0507] In addition, it should be noted that the aforementioned communication module and / or processing module can be implemented through virtual modules, for example, the processing module can be implemented through a software functional unit or a virtual device, and the communication module can be implemented through a software function or a virtual device. Alternatively, the processing module or the communication module can also be implemented through a physical device. For example, if the communication device is implemented using a chip / chip circuit, the communication module can be an input / output circuit and / or a communication interface that performs input operations (corresponding to the aforementioned receiving operations) and output operations (corresponding to the aforementioned sending operations); the processing module is an integrated processor, microprocessor, or integrated circuit.

[0508] The division of modules in the embodiments of the present application is illustrative and is merely a logical functional division. In actual implementation, other division methods may be used. Furthermore, the functional modules in the various embodiments of the present application may be integrated into a single processor, or may exist physically separately, or two or more modules may be integrated into a single module. The aforementioned integrated modules may be implemented in the form of hardware or software functional modules.

[0509] Based on the same technical concept, the embodiment of the present application further provides a communication device 1300. For example, the communication device 1300 can be a chip or a chip system. Optionally, in the embodiment of the present application, the chip system can be composed of a chip, or can include a chip and other discrete devices.

[0510] The communication device 1300 can be used to implement the functions of the non-3GPP access network device or terminal device described in the aforementioned embodiments. The communication device 1300 may include at least one processor 1310, which is coupled to a memory. Optionally, the memory may be located within the communication device, the memory may be integrated with the processor, or the memory may be located outside the communication device. For example, the communication device 1300 may also include at least one memory 1320. The memory 1320 stores the necessary computer programs, computer programs or instructions and / or data for implementing any of the aforementioned embodiments; the processor 1310 may execute the computer program stored in the memory 1320 to complete the method in any of the aforementioned embodiments.

[0511] The communication device 1300 may also include a communication interface 1330, through which the communication device 1300 can exchange information with other devices. Exemplarily, the communication interface 1330 may be a transceiver, circuit, bus, module, pin, or other type of communication interface. When the communication device 1300 is a chip-type device or circuit, the communication interface 1330 in the communication device 1300 may also be an input-output circuit that can input information (or receive information) and output information (or send information). The processor is an integrated processor or microprocessor or integrated circuit or logic circuit, and the processor can determine output information based on input information.

[0512] The coupling in the embodiments of the present application is an indirect coupling or communication connection between devices, units, or modules, which can be electrical, mechanical, or other forms, and is used for information exchange between devices, units, or modules. The processor 1310 may operate in conjunction with the memory 1320 and the communication interface 1330. The specific connection medium between the processor 1310, memory 1320, and communication interface 1330 is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0513] Optionally, referring to FIG13 , the processor 1310, the memory 1320, and the communication interface 1330 are interconnected via a bus 1340. The bus 1340 may be a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bus or an extended industry standard architecture (EISA) bus, etc. The bus may be classified as an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For ease of illustration, FIG13 shows only one thick line, but this does not mean that there is only one bus or only one type of bus.

[0514] In the embodiments of the present application, the processor may be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor, an application-specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array or other programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic device, or a discrete hardware component, and may implement or execute the methods, steps, and logic block diagrams disclosed in the embodiments of the present application. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor. The steps of the methods disclosed in the embodiments of the present application may be directly implemented as being executed by a hardware processor, or may be executed by a combination of hardware and software modules in the processor.

[0515] In an embodiment of the present application, the memory may be a non-volatile memory, such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid-state drive (SSD), etc., or a volatile memory (volatile memory), such as a random-access memory (RAM). The memory is any other medium that can be used to carry or store a desired program code in the form of an instruction or data structure and can be accessed by a computer, but is not limited thereto. The memory in the embodiment of the present application may also be a circuit or any other device that can implement a storage function, for storing program instructions and / or data.

[0516] Wherein: the communication device 1300 can be applied to a terminal device, and specifically the communication device 1300 can be a non-3GPP access network device, or a device that can support a non-3GPP access network device to implement the functions of the non-3GPP access network device in any of the above-mentioned embodiments. The memory 1320 stores a computer program (or instruction) and / or data that implements the functions of the non-3GPP access network device in any of the above-mentioned embodiments. The processor 1310 can execute the computer program stored in the memory 1320 to complete the method executed by the non-3GPP access network device in any of the above-mentioned embodiments. Applied to a non-3GPP access network device, the communication interface in the communication device 1300 can be used to interact with other communication devices (such as a terminal device), send information to other communication devices, or receive information from other communication devices.

[0517] Wherein: the communication device 1300 can be applied to a terminal device, and the specific communication device 1300 can be a terminal device, or a device that can support the terminal device to implement the terminal device function in any of the above-mentioned embodiments. The memory 1320 stores computer programs (or instructions) and / or data that implement the terminal device function in any of the above-mentioned embodiments. The processor 1310 can execute the computer program stored in the memory 1320 to complete the method executed by the terminal device in any of the above-mentioned embodiments. Applied to a terminal device, the communication interface in the communication device 1300 can be used to interact with other communication devices (such as non-3GPP access network devices, core network devices), send information to other communication devices, or receive information from other communication devices.

[0518] The present application also provides a communication system including a terminal device and a domain name server. Optionally, the system also includes a non-3GPP access network device. Optionally, the system also includes a core network device, such as an AMF network element, an SMF network element, etc.

[0519] The embodiment of the present application also provides a communication system, including a terminal device and a trusted non-3GPP access network device. Optionally, it also includes core network equipment, such as an AMF network element, an SMF network element, etc.

[0520] An embodiment of the present application also provides a communication system, including a terminal device and a core network device.

[0521] It is understood that the processor in the embodiments of the present application may be a central processing unit (CPU), or may be other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSP), application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC), field programmable gate arrays (FPGA), or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components, or any combination thereof. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0522] The technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, they can be implemented in whole or in part 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, the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are generated in whole or in part. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, a terminal device, an access network device, 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 available media integrated therein. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (eg, a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (eg, a digital video disc (DVD)), or a semiconductor medium.

[0523] In the embodiments of the present application, under the premise that there is no logical contradiction, the embodiments may reference each other, for example, the methods and / or terms between method embodiments may reference each other, for example, the functions and / or terms between device embodiments may reference each other, for example, the functions and / or terms between device embodiments and method embodiments may reference each other.

[0524] Obviously, those skilled in the art may make various changes and modifications to the embodiments of the present application without departing from the scope of the embodiments of the present application. Thus, if these modifications and variations of the embodiments of the present application fall within the scope of the claims of the embodiments of the present application and their equivalents, the embodiments of the present application are intended to include these modifications and variations.< / mcc> < / mnc>

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: Applied to non-Third Partnership Project 3GPP access network equipment, the method includes: Receiving first information sent by a core network device, where the first information indicates establishing user plane resources for a first session of a terminal device; Determine user plane connection information based on the first information, and send the user plane connection information to the terminal device, the user plane connection information indicates a first mapping relationship, the first mapping relationship including at least one of the following: a mapping relationship between the first session and the first connection and / or the first flow, a mapping relationship between one or more QoS flows and the first connection and / or the first flow, a mapping relationship between the QoS flow in the first session and the first connection and / or the first flow; wherein, the first connection is used to perform data transmission between the terminal device and the non-3GPP access network device based on a first protocol.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein The first mapping relationship includes a mapping relationship between the first session and the first flow; The user plane connection information includes identification information of the first flow.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein The first mapping relationship includes a mapping relationship between the QoS flow in the first session and the first flow; The user plane connection information includes identification information of the QoS flow in the first session and identification information of the first flow.

4. The method according to claim 2 or 3, wherein: The first connection is used to transmit control signaling of the first session and the terminal device.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein The first mapping relationship includes a mapping relationship between the first session, the first connection, and the first flow; The user plane connection information includes identification information of the first flow; or the user plane connection information includes information indicating the first connection and identification information of the first flow.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein The first connection is used to transmit one or more sessions of the terminal device, where the one or more sessions include the first session, and the first session corresponds to the first stream.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein The first mapping relationship includes a mapping relationship between the QoS flow in the first session and the first connection and the first flow; The user plane connection information includes identification information of the QoS flow in the first session and identification information of the first flow; Alternatively, the user plane connection information includes information indicating the first connection, identification information of the QoS flow in the first session, and identification information of the first flow.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein The first connection is used to transmit one or more sessions of the terminal device, the one or more sessions include the first session, and the first flow is used to transmit one or more QoS flows in the first session; or The first connection is used to transmit the first session, and the first flow is used to transmit one or more QoS flows of the first session; or The first connection is used to transmit the same QoS flow in one or more sessions of the terminal device, and the first flow is used to transmit the first session.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein The first mapping relationship includes a mapping relationship between the first session and the first connection; The user plane connection information includes information indicating the first connection.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein The first connection is used to transmit the first session.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein The first mapping relationship includes a mapping relationship between the QoS flow of the first session and the first connection; The user plane connection information includes information indicating the first connection and identification information of the QoS flow of the first session.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein The first connection is used to transmit one or more QoS flows in the first session.

13. The method according to claim 1, wherein The first mapping relationship includes a mapping relationship between one or more QoS flows and a first connection; The user plane connection information includes identification information of the QoS flow, or The user plane connection information includes identification information of the QoS flow and information indicating the first connection.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein The first connection is used to transmit the same QoS flow in one or more sessions of the terminal device, including the first session.

15. The method according to any one of claims 5 to 14, wherein: The method further comprises: If it is determined that the first session or the first connection corresponding to the QoS flow in the first session has not been established between the terminal device and the non-3GPP access network device, the first session or the first connection corresponding to the QoS flow in the first session is established.

16. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 15, wherein: The method further comprises: Receiving uplink data from the terminal device; Determining a session and / or QoS flow corresponding to the uplink data according to the first connection and / or first flow corresponding to the uplink data and the first mapping relationship; The uplink data is sent according to the session and / or QoS flow corresponding to the uplink data.

17. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 16, wherein: The method further comprises: Receiving downlink data from the terminal device; Determining a first connection and / or a first flow corresponding to the downlink data according to the session and / or QoS flow corresponding to the downlink data and the first mapping relationship; The downlink data is sent to the terminal device according to the first connection and / or first flow corresponding to the downlink data.

18. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 17, wherein: The method further comprises: If it is determined that the terminal device and the non-3GPP access network device communicate based on the first protocol, connection establishment information is sent to the terminal device, and the connection establishment information is used to establish a second connection between the terminal device and the non-3GPP access network device, and the second connection is used to transmit control signaling between the terminal device and the non-3GPP access network device based on the first protocol.

19. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 18, wherein: The method further comprises: receiving first capability information sent by the terminal device, where the first capability information is used to indicate that the terminal device supports the first protocol; Send second capability information to the terminal device, where the second capability information is used to indicate that the non-3GPP access network device supports the first protocol.

20. A communication method, characterized in that: Applied to a terminal device, the method includes: Sending a second message, wherein the second message requests to establish the first session; Receive user plane connection information sent by the non-3GPP access network device, the user plane connection information indicates a first mapping relationship, the first mapping relationship including at least one of the following: a mapping relationship between the first session and the first connection and / or the first flow, a mapping relationship between one or more QoS flows and the first connection and / or the first flow, a mapping relationship between the QoS flow in the first session and the first connection and / or the first flow; wherein, the first connection is used for data transmission between the terminal device and the non-3GPP access network device based on a first protocol.

21. The method according to claim 20, wherein The first mapping relationship includes a mapping relationship between the first session and the first flow; The user plane connection information includes identification information of the first flow.

22. The method according to claim 20, wherein The first mapping relationship includes a mapping relationship between the QoS flow in the first session and the first flow; The user plane connection information includes identification information of the QoS flow in the first session and identification information of the first flow.

23. The method according to claim 21 or 22, wherein: The first connection is used to transmit control signaling of the first session and the terminal device.

24. The method of claim 20, wherein: The first mapping relationship includes a mapping relationship between the first session, the first connection, and the first flow; The user plane connection information includes identification information of the first flow; or the user plane connection information includes information indicating the first connection and identification information of the first flow.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein: The first connection is used to transmit one or more sessions of the terminal device, where the one or more sessions include the first session, and the first session corresponds to the first stream.

26. The method of claim 20, wherein: The first mapping relationship includes a mapping relationship between the QoS flow in the first session and the first connection and the first flow; The user plane connection information includes identification information of the QoS flow in the first session and identification information of the first flow; Alternatively, the user plane connection information includes information indicating the first connection, identification information of the QoS flow in the first session, and identification information of the first flow.

27. The method according to claim 26, wherein The first connection is used to transmit one or more sessions of the terminal device, the one or more sessions include the first session, and the first flow is used to transmit one or more QoS flows in the first session; or The first connection is used to transmit the first session, and the first flow is used to transmit one or more QoS flows of the first session; or The first connection is used to transmit the same QoS flow in one or more sessions of the terminal device, and the first flow is used to transmit the first session.

28. The method of claim 20, wherein: The first mapping relationship includes a mapping relationship between the first session and the first connection; The user plane connection information includes information indicating the first connection.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein The first connection is used to transmit the first session.

30. The method of claim 20, wherein: The first mapping relationship includes a mapping relationship between the QoS flow of the first session and the first connection; The user plane connection information includes information indicating the first connection and identification information of the QoS flow of the first session.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein: The first connection is used to transmit one or more QoS flows in the first session.

32. The method of claim 20, wherein: The first mapping relationship includes a mapping relationship between one or more QoS flows and a first connection; The user plane connection information includes identification information of the QoS flow, or The user plane connection information includes identification information of the QoS flow and information indicating the first connection.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein: The first connection is used to transmit the same QoS flow in one or more sessions of the terminal device, including the first session.

34. The method according to any one of claims 20 to 33, wherein: The method further comprises: Get the uplink data to be sent; Determining a first connection and / or a first flow corresponding to the uplink data according to the session and / or QoS flow corresponding to the uplink data and the first mapping relationship; The uplink data is sent to the non-3GPP access network device according to the first connection and / or the first flow corresponding to the uplink data.

35. The method according to any one of claims 20 to 34, wherein: The method further comprises: Receive connection establishment information sent by the non-3GPP access network device, where the connection establishment information is used to establish a second connection between the terminal device and the non-3GPP access network device, and the second connection is used to transmit control signaling between the terminal device and the non-3GPP access network device based on the first protocol.

36. The method according to any one of claims 20 to 35, wherein: The method further comprises: Sending first capability information to the non-3GPP access network device, where the first capability information is used to indicate that the terminal device supports the first protocol; Receive second capability information sent by the non-3GPP access network device, where the second capability information is used to indicate that the non-3GPP access network device supports the first protocol.

37. The method according to any one of claims 20 to 36, wherein: The method further comprises: Sending third information to a domain name server, where the third information is used to instruct a query for a non-3GPP access network device that supports the first protocol; Receive information of a non-3GPP access network device supporting the first protocol sent by the domain name server.

38. A communication device, characterized in that: The method comprises a module for executing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 19, or a module for executing the method according to any one of claims 20 to 37.

39. A communication device, characterized in that: include: A processor, wherein the processor is coupled to a memory, the memory is used to store a computer program or instructions, and the processor is used to execute the computer program or instructions to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 19, or to implement the method according to any one of claims 20 to 37.

40. A communication device, characterized in that: Including interface circuit and logic circuit; The interface circuit is used to communicate with modules outside the communication device; The logic circuit is configured to execute a computer program to enable the communication device to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 19, or the method according to any one of claims 20 to 37.

41. A communication system, characterized in that The invention comprises a non-3GPP access network device for executing the method described in any one of claims 1 to 19, and a terminal device for executing the method described in any one of claims 20 to 37.

42. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that The computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program or instruction. When the instruction is executed on a computer, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 19 or the method according to any one of claims 20 to 37 is implemented.

43. A computer program product, characterized in that The method comprises a computer program, which implements the method according to any one of claims 1 to 19 when the computer program is executed by a communication device, or implements the method according to any one of claims 20 to 37 when the computer program is executed by a communication device.

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