Communication method and apparatus

Abstract

Provided in the embodiments of the present application are a communication method and apparatus. The method comprises: a session management function network element sending first subscription information to a network exposure function network element, wherein the first subscription information is used for requesting subscription to edge deployment information; and then receiving the edge deployment information from the network exposure function network element, wherein the edge deployment information comprises information for indicating at least one application function network element associated with the edge deployment information. In the method, a session management function network element can obtain edge deployment information from a network exposure function network element, and since the edge deployment information comprises information for indicating at least one application function network element associated with the edge deployment information, the at least one application function network element can be directly or indirectly determined on the basis of the information, so that the session management function network element can subsequently obtain, from the at least one application function network element, information required for subsequent procedures, e.g. a delay from a terminal device to an EAS, an N6 delay, and load information of the EAS.

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 26, 2024, with application number 202410211861.8 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] With the explosive growth of mobile service traffic, the industry has proposed the concept of edge computing (EC) to support this rapidly growing mobile service traffic model. In EC deployment scenarios, certain services may be served by multiple edge application servers (EAS) deployed at the edge of the network. These EASs can provide the same services and content but have different Internet Protocol (IP) addresses. Therefore, when a user equipment (UE) accesses a service, it needs to select and obtain an appropriate and available EAS IP address.

[0005] To assist in EAS discovery, the edge application server discovery function (EASDF) network element has been defined, and a solution has been proposed for the session management function (SMF) network element to instruct the EASDF to perform EAS discovery. In actual applications, the EASDF network element may discover or provide multiple EASs to the SMF. However, in existing solutions, the network side cannot obtain relevant EAS information, such as the N6 latency between the EAS and the user plane function network element and EAS load information. This can result in the network side being unable to select the appropriate EAS for the user device, thereby affecting the user device's communication quality. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The present application proposes a communication method and apparatus, which enables the network side to obtain EAS-related information from the application function network element, such as the N6 delay between the EAS and the user plane function network element and the EAS load information. Then, in the process of discovering or determining the EAS, the appropriate EAS can be effectively selected for the user equipment / terminal device based on the EAS-related information to ensure the communication quality of the user equipment / terminal device.

[0007] In a first aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which can be executed by a session management function network element, or by a chip or chip system corresponding to the session management function network element, without specific limitation. Taking the session management function network element as an example, the method can specifically include: the session management function network element sending first subscription information to the network open function network element, the first subscription information being used to request subscription to edge deployment information; and the session management function network element receiving edge deployment information from the network open function network element, the edge deployment information including information indicating at least one application function network element associated with the edge deployment information.

[0008] In this embodiment of the present application, the information used to indicate at least one application function network element associated with the edge deployment information may include, but is not limited to, one or more of the following:

[0009] The identification information of the at least one application function network element, the address information of the at least one application function network element, the address information of the at least one network open function network element, and the identification information of the at least one network open function network element.

[0010] The address information of the at least one network open function network element and / or the identification information of the at least one network open function network element may correspond one-to-one, many-to-one, or one-to-many to the at least one application function network element, without specific limitation. In one possible implementation, the address information of the at least one network open function network element corresponds one-to-one to the at least one application function network element, and the identification information of the at least one network open function network element corresponds one-to-one to the at least one application function network element.

[0011] In the solution of the present application, the session management function network element requests the network open function network element to subscribe to edge deployment information, so that the edge deployment information can be obtained from the network open function network element. The edge deployment information includes information for indicating at least one application function network element associated with the edge deployment information. Therefore, through the information for indicating at least one application function network element associated with the edge deployment information, the at least one application function network element can be directly or indirectly determined, so that the subsequent session management function network element can effectively obtain the required information from the at least one application function network element.

[0012] In a possible implementation, the edge deployment information may further include information of at least one application and / or first indication information;

[0013] The information of each application in the at least one application may include identification information of the application (such as an identity ID) and / or fully qualified domain name (FQDN) information corresponding to the application;

[0014] The at least one application includes an application that meets a first condition, and the first condition may include at least one of the following:

[0015] (1) End-to-end delay requirements; for example, the delay requirements from the terminal device to the EAS; (2) The load requirements of the edge application server EAS; (3) The N6 delay requirements between the edge application server EAS and the local protocol data unit session anchor L-PSA.

[0016] The first indication information may be used to indicate an application that meets the first condition. The session management function may effectively and accurately determine or identify an application that meets the first condition from the at least one application based on the first indication information.

[0017] In this embodiment of the present application, the information of the application that meets the first condition may further include at least one of the following:

[0018] The end-to-end delay requirements corresponding to the application, the N6 delay requirements corresponding to the application, and the load requirements of the edge application server EAS corresponding to the application.

[0019] In an embodiment of the present application, the end-to-end latency requirement corresponding to an application meeting the first condition may be a preset end-to-end latency threshold or latency range corresponding to the application, etc. The N6 latency requirement corresponding to an application meeting the first condition may be a preset N6 latency threshold or N6 latency range corresponding to the application. The load requirement of an edge application server (EAS) corresponding to an application meeting the first condition may be a preset EAS load threshold or load range corresponding to the application.

[0020] Through this implementation, the session management function network element can also effectively obtain relevant information of each application, and know which of these applications meet the first condition (i.e., applications that consider at least one of the end-to-end delay requirements, N6 delay requirements, and EAS load requirements) and the specific delay requirements and / or EAS load requirements corresponding to the applications that meet the first condition, so that in the subsequent EAS discovery process, for applications that meet the first condition, the session management function network element can use the above-mentioned information obtained to effectively select / determine the appropriate EAS and its address information.

[0021] In a possible implementation, the method may further include: a session management function network element receives a first message, the first message including address information of at least one edge application server EAS corresponding to the target application and information of the target application, the information of the target application including identification information of the target application and / or fully qualified domain name FQDN information corresponding to the target application; then the session management function network element determines that the target application belongs to an application that meets the first condition based on the information of the target application and the information of the application that meets the first condition; further, the session management function network element obtains the delay information corresponding to the at least one EAS and / or the load information corresponding to the at least one EAS; then, based on the delay information corresponding to the at least one EAS and / or the load information corresponding to the at least one EAS, the address information of the target EAS is determined from the address information of the at least one EAS, and the target L-PSA accessing the target EAS is determined.

[0022] In an embodiment of the present application, the target application may refer to an application corresponding to a service initiated or accessed by a terminal device, such as an application (app) corresponding to a service requested by a UE.

[0023] Through this implementation, after the session management function network element receives the address information of at least one edge application server EAS corresponding to the target application and the information of the target application, if the target application is an application that meets the first condition, the session management function network element can effectively select the appropriate EAS address information for subsequent communication of the terminal device based on the delay information and / or load information corresponding to the at least one EAS, thereby ensuring the communication quality of the terminal device.

[0024] In another possible implementation, the method may further include: a session management function network element receiving a first message, the first message including address information of at least one edge application server EAS corresponding to the target application and information about the target application; the information about the target application including identification information of the target application and / or fully qualified domain name information corresponding to the target application; then the session management function network element determining, based on the information about the target application and information about the application that meets the first condition, that the target application belongs to an application that meets the first condition; further, the session management function network element obtaining delay information corresponding to the at least one EAS and / or load information corresponding to the at least one EAS; when the second condition is met, the session management function network element sending second indication information to the edge application server discovery function EASDF network element, the second indication information instructing to execute an edge application server rediscovery process and / or a local protocol data unit session anchor L-PSA selection process; wherein the second condition may include, but is not limited to, one or more of the following:

[0025] (1) The end-to-end delay information corresponding to the at least one EAS does not meet the end-to-end delay requirement corresponding to the target application; (2) The N6 delay corresponding to the at least one EAS does not meet the N6 delay requirement corresponding to the target application; (3) Trigger information of the rediscovery process is received from the edge application server of the application function network element corresponding to the target application.

[0026] In the above (1), the end-to-end (e.g., terminal device to EAS) delay information corresponding to the at least one EAS does not meet the end-to-end (e.g., terminal device to EAS) delay requirement corresponding to the target application, which may include but is not limited to the following situations:

[0027] Case 1: The end-to-end delay corresponding to the at least one EAS exceeds the end-to-end delay threshold (or delay range, etc.) corresponding to the target application.

[0028] Case 2: When the session management function network element receives the load information of the at least one EAS sent from the first application function network element, it determines that the end-to-end delay information corresponding to the at least one EAS (e.g., the delay information from the terminal device to the EAS) does not meet the end-to-end delay requirement corresponding to the target application (e.g., the delay requirement from the terminal device to the EAS); wherein the load information of each EAS in the at least one EAS is sent when the first application function determines that the load of the EAS exceeds a load threshold. The load threshold may be determined by the session management function network element based on the end-to-end delay requirement corresponding to the target application (e.g., the delay requirement from the terminal device to the EAS) and provided to the first application function network element.

[0029] In the above (2), the N6 delay corresponding to the at least one EAS does not meet the N6 delay requirement corresponding to the target application, which may include but is not limited to the following: the second delay corresponding to the at least one EAS exceeds the N6 delay threshold corresponding to the target application (or the N6 delay range corresponding to the target application, etc.).

[0030] Through this implementation, for the target application, it can further ensure that appropriate EAS address information is provided to the terminal device, so as to ensure the subsequent communication quality of the terminal device.

[0031] In the embodiment of the present application, the delay information corresponding to the EAS (any EAS of at least one EAS corresponding to the target application) may include one or more of the following:

[0032] (1) Processing delay (i.e., processing delay of the edge application server EAS), (2) a first delay between the terminal device and at least one local protocol data unit session anchor L-PSA; the at least one local protocol data unit session anchor L-PSA may refer to at least one L-PSA that the EAS can access. (3) a second delay between the EAS and at least one local protocol data unit session anchor L-PSA that can access the EAS. The second delay is the N6 delay between the L-PSA and the EAS.

[0033] The following is an introduction to the delay information corresponding to EAS in the embodiment of the present application.

[0034] In one possible implementation, the delay information corresponding to an EAS (any one of at least one EAS corresponding to a target application) includes the processing delay corresponding to the EAS; and the session management function network element obtaining the delay information corresponding to the at least one EAS may include: the session management function network element determining the processing delay corresponding to the at least one EAS based on load information corresponding to the at least one EAS and preset mapping information (known to the SMF); wherein the preset mapping information includes a correspondence between the load information corresponding to the at least one EAS and the processing delay corresponding to the at least one EAS. Through this implementation, the session management function network element can effectively determine the processing delay corresponding to the at least one EAS based on the load information corresponding to the at least one EAS.

[0035] In the embodiment of the present application, the session management function network element obtains the load information corresponding to the at least one EAS, which may include but is not limited to the following situations and corresponding implementation methods:

[0036] Case 1: The information indicating at least one application function network element associated with the edge deployment information includes the address information of the first function network element corresponding to the target application (or the identification information of the first application function):

[0037] The session management function network element sends first information to the first application function network element. After receiving the first information, the first application function network element sends load information of the at least one EAS or load information of the EAS among the at least one EAS that meets the third condition to the session management function network element. Accordingly, the session management function network element receives the load information of the at least one EAS or load information of the EAS among the at least one EAS that meets the third condition.

[0038] Case 2: The information indicating at least one application function network element associated with the edge deployment information includes the first address information of the network open function network element corresponding to the target application (or the first identification information of the network open function network element):

[0039] The session management function network element sends first information to the network open function network element; subsequently, the session management function network element receives the load information of the at least one EAS provided by the first application function network element or the load information of the EAS in the at least one EAS that meets the third condition from the network open function network element.

[0040] For scenario 1 or scenario 2, the first information may be used to request load information for the at least one EAS, and the first information may include the address information of the at least one EAS; or the first information may be used to indicate a third condition, and the first information may include the address information of the at least one EAS and / or the third condition. In embodiments of the present application, the third condition may include, but is not limited to: feedback of corresponding load information when the load of the at least one EAS satisfies a load threshold.

[0041] The session management function network element obtains the address information (or identification information) of the application function network element corresponding to the target application, or the address information (or identification information) of the network open function network element through the edge deployment information, and then can directly request the load information corresponding to the at least one EAS from the first application function network element, or indirectly request the load information corresponding to the at least one EAS from the first application function network element through the network open function network element, so that the session management function network element can effectively obtain the load information corresponding to each EAS in the at least one EAS.

[0042] In one possible implementation, the delay information corresponding to the EAS (any one of the at least one EAS corresponding to the target application) includes the first delay between the terminal device and at least one local protocol data unit session anchor point L-PSA; the session management function network element obtains the delay information corresponding to any one of the at least one EAS, which may include: the session management function network element obtains the first delay between the terminal device corresponding to any one of the at least one EAS and at least one local protocol data unit session anchor point L-PSA.

[0043] For any of the EASs, the session management function network element obtains a first delay between the corresponding terminal device and at least one local protocol data unit session anchor L-PSA, which may include the following steps:

[0044] Step 1: The session management function network element obtains at least one third delay and a fourth delay between the access network device and the terminal device; wherein the at least one third delay is the delay between at least one L-PSA and the access network device, and the at least one L-PSA is an L-PSA that the EAS can access. Step 2: The session management function network element determines the first delay between the terminal device and the at least one L-PSA based on the at least one third delay and the fourth delay. Through this embodiment, for any one of the at least one EAS corresponding to the target application, the delay between each L-PSA corresponding to the EAS and the terminal device (i.e., collectively referred to as the first delay) can be effectively obtained.

[0045] In the embodiment of the present application, the session management function network element may obtain the at least one third delay in the following manners, including but not limited to:

[0046] The session management function network element sends a first notification message to each L-PSA that can access the EAS, and the first notification message is used to instruct the L-PSA to measure the third delay between the L-PSA and the access network device; then the session management function network element receives the third delay between each L-PSA that can access the EAS and the access network device.

[0047] For example, taking EAS1 as an example: the L-PSAs that EAS1 can access include L-PSA1 and L-PSA2, then the session management function SMF network element sends first notification information to L-PSA1 and L-PSA2 respectively to instruct to measure the delay between the device and the RAN.

[0048] In an embodiment of the present application, the session management function network element obtains the fourth delay between the access network device and the terminal device, which may include but is not limited to: the session management function network element sends a second notification message to the access network device, and the second notification message is used to instruct the access network device to measure the fourth delay between the access network device and the terminal device; and then receives the fourth delay sent from the access network device.

[0049] For example, taking EAS1 as an example: the L-PSAs that EAS1 can access include L-PSA1 and L-PSA2, then the session management function SMF network element first obtains the delay 1 between L-PSA1 and the access network device RAN (collectively referred to as the third delay), the delay 2 between L-PSA2 and the access network device RAN (collectively referred to as the third delay), and the delay 3 between the access network device and the UE (i.e., the fourth delay).

[0050] Based on the delay 1 between L-PSA1 and the access network device (collectively referred to as the third delay) and the delay 3 between the access network device and the UE (i.e., the fourth delay), the delay between L-PSA1 and the UE (collectively referred to as the first delay) can be determined.

[0051] Based on the delay 2 between L-PSA2 and the access network device (collectively referred to as the third delay) and the delay 3 between the access network device and the UE (i.e., the fourth delay), the delay between L-PSA2 and the UE (collectively referred to as the first delay) can be determined.

[0052] In the embodiments of this application, multiple first delays refer to the delays corresponding to different sections of the same type, not the delays corresponding to multiple identical sections. For example, the delay from L-PSA1 to the UE and the delay from L-PSA2 to the UE can be collectively referred to as the first delay, and the same applies to the second and third delays.

[0053] In one possible implementation, the delay information corresponding to the EAS (any EAS of at least one EAS corresponding to the target application) includes a second delay between the EAS and at least one local protocol data unit session anchor L-PSA; the implementation method of the present application may also include: the session management function network element instructs each L-PSA that can access the EAS to measure the second delay between itself and the EAS.

[0054] In one possible implementation, the session management function network element instructs each L-PSA that can access the EAS to measure the second delay between itself and the EAS, which may include: subscribing to the second delay to each L-PSA, and instructing the L-PSA to measure the delay between itself and the EAS when the corresponding N6 delay exceeds the N6 delay requirement corresponding to the target application (e.g., an N6 delay threshold or an N6 delay range), or periodically measuring the delay between itself and the EAS.

[0055] In another possible implementation, the delay information corresponding to the EAS (any EAS of at least one EAS corresponding to the target application) includes a second delay between the EAS and at least one local protocol data unit session anchor L-PSA; the method may further include:

[0056] If the information used to indicate at least one application function network element associated with the edge deployment information includes the address information of the first application function network element corresponding to the target application: the session management function network element sends the second information to the first application function network element. If the information used to indicate at least one application function network element associated with the edge deployment information includes the first address information of the network open function network element: the session management function network element sends the second information to the network open function. The second information is used to request a second delay between the EAS and at least one local protocol data unit session anchor L-PSA, and the at least one L-PSA refers to an L-PSA that can access the EAS; the second information may include but is not limited to one or more of the following:

[0057] The first address information of the network open function network element (which may also be the first identification information of the network open function network element), the address information of the EAS, the data network access identifier DNAI corresponding to the EAS, and the third information;

[0058] The third information is used to request a second time delay between at least one L-PSA corresponding to the EAS and the EAS within the area indicated by the DNAI.

[0059] Through this implementation, the session management function network element can efficiently obtain at least one second delay (ie, N6 delay) corresponding to each EAS in the at least one EAS corresponding to the target application from the first application function network element corresponding to the target application.

[0060] In a second aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which can be executed by a network open function network element, or by a chip or chip system corresponding to the network open function network element, without specific limitation. Taking the network open function network element as an example, the method can specifically include: the network open function network element receiving first subscription information from a session management function network element, the first subscription information being used to request subscription to edge deployment information; and the network open function network element sending edge deployment information to the session management function network element, the edge deployment information including information indicating at least one application function network element associated with the edge deployment information.

[0061] In this embodiment of the present application, the information used to indicate at least one application function network element associated with the edge deployment information may include, but is not limited to, one or more of the following:

[0062] The identification information of the at least one application function network element, the address information of the at least one application function network element, the address information of the at least one network open function network element, and the identification information of the at least one network open function network element.

[0063] The address information of the at least one network open function network element and / or the identification information of the at least one network open function network element may correspond one-to-one, many-to-one, or one-to-many to the at least one application function network element, without limitation. In one possible implementation, the address information of the at least one network open function network element corresponds one-to-one to the at least one application function network element, and the identification information of the at least one network open function network element corresponds one-to-one to the at least one application function network element.

[0064] In the present application scheme, after receiving the subscription information of the edge deployment information of the session management function network element, the network open function network element can send the edge deployment information to the session management function network element to provide the session management function network element with information indicating at least one application function network element associated with the edge deployment information. Then, based on the information indicating at least one application function network element associated with the edge deployment information, the session management function network element can directly or indirectly determine the at least one application function network element, so that the required information can be effectively obtained from the at least one application function network element in the future.

[0065] In one possible implementation, the method may further include: the network open function network element receiving first deployment information from at least one application function network element, where the first deployment information of each application function network element includes address information and / or identification information of the application function network element. Optionally, this implementation may be performed before the network open function network element receives first subscription information from the session management function network element, or before the network open function network element sends edge deployment information to the session management function network element.

[0066] Through this implementation, the network open function network element receives the first deployment information from at least one application function network element, and can subsequently effectively provide the relevant deployment information of each application function network element to other corresponding function network elements (such as session management function network element) or store it in the unified data storage UDR.

[0067] In a possible implementation, after the network open function network element receives the first deployment information from at least one application function network element, the method may further include the following:

[0068] If the at least one application function network element is an application function network element that can be trusted by the network or an application function network element that has been authorized by the network, the network open function network element can send the first deployment information of the at least one application function network element to the unified data storage UDR network element.

[0069] If the at least one application function network element is an application function network element that can be trusted by the network or an application function network element that has been authorized by the network, the network open function network element may generate the address information of the corresponding network open function network element and / or the identification information of the network open function network element based on the address information of each application function network element, and generate a corresponding mapping relationship, where the mapping relationship is used to characterize the correspondence between the address information of the network open function network element and the address information of the application function network element; and then send the second deployment information of the at least one application function network element to the unified storage data UDR network element; the second deployment information of each application function network element may include but is not limited to at least one of the following:

[0070] The address information of the network open function network element, the identification information of the network open function network element, and the mapping relationship (optional information).

[0071] Through this implementation, the network open function network element can directly store the address information of the trusted application function network element in the UDR network element, so that it can be effectively obtained from the UDR network element during subsequent use. For the address information of the untrusted application function network element, the network open function network element can convert / generate address information and / or identification information that the network open function network element can know / identify based on the address information of the untrusted application function network element, and store it in the UDR network element. This not only facilitates the effective acquisition from the UDR network element during subsequent use, but also allows the network open function network element to accurately determine the address information (or identification information) of the corresponding application function network element based on the address information and / or identification information converted / generated by itself.

[0072] In one possible implementation, the method may further include: the network open function network element may send a first request message to the unified data storage UDR network element, the first request message being used to request edge deployment information; and then receiving a first response message from the unified data storage UDR network element, the first response message including the edge deployment information. Optionally, this implementation may be performed after the network open function network element receives the first subscription message from the session management function network element, i.e., the edge deployment information may come from the UDR network element. Through this implementation, the network open function network element can effectively obtain the edge deployment information from the UDR network element, thereby providing it to the session management function network element.

[0073] In an embodiment of the present application, the first deployment information and / or second deployment information of each of the above-mentioned application function network elements may also include information and / or indication information of at least one application; the information of each application in the at least one application may include but is not limited to identification information of the application (for example, an identity ID) and / or fully qualified domain name (FQDN) information corresponding to the application; the at least one application includes an application that meets the first condition; the indication information is used to indicate or identify the application that meets the first condition.

[0074] In an embodiment of the present application, the above-mentioned edge deployment information may further include information of at least one application and / or first indication information;

[0075] Similarly, the information of each application includes the identification information of the application and / or the fully qualified domain name information corresponding to the application; and the at least one application includes an application that meets the first condition, and the first indication information is used to indicate or identify the application that meets the first condition.

[0076] In this embodiment of the present application, the first condition may include at least one of the following:

[0077] End-to-end (e.g., terminal device to EAS) latency requirements, EAS load requirements, and N6 latency requirements between the EAS and the local protocol data unit session anchor (L-PSA).

[0078] Furthermore, the information of the application meeting the first condition may further include at least one of the following:

[0079] The end-to-end delay requirements corresponding to the application (for example, the delay threshold or delay range between UE and EAS), the N6 delay requirements corresponding to the application (for example, the N6 delay threshold or delay range), and the load requirements of the edge application server EAS corresponding to the application (for example, the EAS load percentage threshold, the load threshold or range, etc.).

[0080] In one possible implementation, the method may further include: the network open function network element receiving first information from the session management function network element, the first information being used to request load information for the at least one EAS, or the first information being used to indicate a second condition; the first information may include address information for the at least one EAS and / or the second condition. In this embodiment of the present application, the second condition may include, but is not limited to, feedback of corresponding load information when the load of the at least one EAS meets a load threshold. The network open function network element then determines the address information of the first application function network element corresponding to the target application; then sends the first information to the first application function network element; further, it may receive load information for the at least one EAS or load information for EASs within the at least one EAS that meet the second condition from the first application function network element; and then sends the load information for the at least one EAS or load information for EASs within the at least one EAS that meet the second condition to the session management function network element. Through this implementation, the network open function network element can assist the session management function network element in accurately determining the address information of the first application function network element corresponding to the target application, thereby effectively obtaining the address information of the at least one EAS from the first application function network element and then providing it to the session management function network element.

[0081] In one possible implementation, the method may further include: the network open function network element receiving second information from the session management function network element; the second information being used to request a second delay between any one of the at least one EAS corresponding to the target application and at least one local protocol data unit session anchor L-PSA; the second information may include but is not limited to one or more of the following:

[0082] The first address information of the network open function network element, the address information of the EAS, the data network access identifier DNAI corresponding to the EAS, and the third information; wherein the third information is used to request that the second delay between at least one L-PSA corresponding to the EAS and the EAS be accessible within the area indicated by the DNAI; the network open function network element determines the address information of the first application function network element corresponding to the target application, and then sends the second information to the first application function network element; further, the network open function network element can receive the second delay between the EAS and at least one local protocol data unit session anchor point L-PSA from the first application function network element; and then send the second delay between the EAS and at least one local protocol data unit session anchor point L-PSA to the session management function network element.

[0083] Through this implementation, the network openness function network element can assist the session management function network element to effectively obtain at least one N6 delay (herein referred to as the second delay) corresponding to each EAS from the first application function network element corresponding to the target application.

[0084] In the embodiment of the present application, the network open function network element determines the address information of the first application function network element corresponding to the target application, which can be achieved by but not limited to the following methods:

[0085] Method 1: The network open function network element determines the address information of the first application function network element based on the mapping relationship between the first address information of the network open function network element and the first application function network element; the mapping relationship corresponding to the first application function network element is used to characterize the correspondence between the first address information of the network open function network element and the address information of the first application function network element.

[0086] Method 2: The network open function network element sends a second request message to the UDR network element. The second request message is used to request the address information of the first application function network element. The second request message includes the first address information of the network open function network element. Then, the network open function network element can receive the address information of the first application function network element from the UDR network element.

[0087] Through the above-mentioned methods, the network open function network element can effectively and accurately determine the address information of the first application function network element corresponding to the target application, so that the required information (such as EAS load information, N6 delay information, etc.) can be obtained from the first application function network element subsequently.

[0088] On the third aspect, the present application implements a communication method, which can be executed by a unified data storage UDR network element, or by a chip or chip system corresponding to the unified data storage UDR network element, without specific limitation. Taking a unified data storage UDR network element (hereinafter referred to as UDR network element) as an example, the method can specifically include: the unified data storage UDR network element receives a first request message from a network open function network element, and the first request message is used to request edge deployment information; and then the UDR network element sends a first response message to the network open function network element, and the first response message includes edge deployment information, and the edge deployment information includes information for indicating at least one application function network element associated with the edge deployment information.

[0089] In an embodiment of the present application, the information used to indicate at least one application function network element associated with the edge deployment information may include, but is not limited to, one or more of the following:

[0090] The identification information of the at least one application function network element, the address information of the at least one application function network element, the address information of the at least one network open function network element, and the identification information of the at least one network open function network element.

[0091] The address information of the at least one network open function network element and / or the identification information of the at least one network open function network element may correspond one-to-one, many-to-one, or one-to-many to the at least one application function network element, without limitation. In one possible implementation, the address information of the at least one network open function network element corresponds one-to-one to the at least one application function network element, and the identification information of the at least one network open function network element corresponds one-to-one to the at least one application function network element.

[0092] In the present application solution, the network open function network element can also effectively obtain edge deployment information from the unified data storage (UDR) network element, so as to effectively provide the edge deployment information to the session management function network element. Furthermore, based on the information indicating at least one application function network element associated with the edge deployment information, the session management function network element can directly or indirectly determine the at least one application function network element, and subsequently effectively obtain required information from the at least one application function network element.

[0093] In one possible implementation, the method may further include: the unified data storage UDR network element receiving first deployment information of at least one trusted application function network element, where the first deployment information of each application function network element includes address information of the application function network element and / or identification information of the application function network element; and / or the unified data storage UDR network element receiving second deployment information of at least one untrusted application function network element, where the second deployment information of each application function network element includes at least one of the following:

[0094] The address information of the network open function network element, the identification information of the network open function network element, and the mapping relationship (optional information).

[0095] The mapping relationship is used to characterize the correspondence between the address information of the application function network element and the address information of the network open function network element. Through this implementation, the UDR network element can effectively store deployment information such as the address information and / or identification information of the trusted application function network element, while for untrusted application function network elements, the UDR network element stores the address information and / or identification information and the mapping relationship (optional) generated or established by the network open function network element, so that subsequent deployment information related to any of the application function network elements can be effectively obtained from the UDR network element.

[0096] In an embodiment of the present application, the first deployment information and / or second deployment information of each of the above-mentioned application function network elements may also include information and / or indication information of at least one application; the information of each application in the at least one application may include but is not limited to identification information of the application (for example, an identity ID) and / or fully qualified domain name (FQDN) information corresponding to the application; the at least one application includes an application that meets the first condition; the indication information is used to indicate or identify the application that meets the first condition.

[0097] In an embodiment of the present application, the above-mentioned edge deployment information may further include information of at least one application and / or first indication information;

[0098] Similarly, the information of each application includes the identification information of the application and / or the fully qualified domain name information corresponding to the application; and the at least one application includes an application that meets the first condition, and the first indication information is used to indicate or identify the application that meets the first condition.

[0099] In this embodiment of the present application, the first condition may include at least one of the following:

[0100] End-to-end delay requirements (for example, the delay requirements from the terminal device to the EAS), the load requirements of the edge application server EAS, and the N6 delay requirements between the edge application server EAS and the local protocol data unit session anchor point L-PSA.

[0101] Furthermore, the information of the application meeting the first condition may further include at least one of the following:

[0102] The end-to-end delay requirements corresponding to the application (for example, the delay threshold or delay range between the terminal device and EAS), the N6 delay requirements corresponding to the application (for example, the N6 delay threshold or delay range), and the load requirements of the edge application server EAS corresponding to the application (for example, the EAS load percentage threshold, the load threshold or range, etc.).

[0103] Through this implementation, the UDR network element can effectively provide relevant information of each application (including applications that meet the first condition), such as the application's identification information and / or FQDN, as well as the specific delay requirements and / or EAS load requirements corresponding to the application that meets the first condition, so that this information can be effectively provided to the session management function network element in the future.

[0104] In a fourth aspect, the present application further provides a communication device, which is a session management function network element or a chip corresponding to the session management function network element. The communication device has the function of implementing any of the methods provided in the first aspect above. The communication device can be implemented in hardware or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more units or modules corresponding to the above functions.

[0105] In one possible design, the communication device includes: a processor, the processor being configured to support the communication device in performing the corresponding functions of the session management function network element in the method shown above. The communication device may also include a memory, which may be coupled to the processor and stores program instructions and data necessary for the communication device. Optionally, the communication device further includes an interface circuit, which is used to support communication between the communication device and other communication devices (or other core network elements), such as the transmission and reception of data or signals. Exemplarily, the communication interface may be a transceiver, circuit, bus, module, or other type of communication interface.

[0106] In one possible design, the communication device includes corresponding functional modules for implementing the steps in the above method. The functions can be implemented by hardware or by hardware executing corresponding software implementations. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above functions.

[0107] In one possible design, the structure of the communication device includes a processing unit and a communication unit, which can perform the corresponding functions in the above method example. For details, please refer to the description of the method provided in the first aspect, which will not be repeated here.

[0108] In a fifth aspect, the present application further provides a communication device, which is a network open function element or a chip corresponding to the network open function element. The communication device has the function of implementing any of the methods provided in the second aspect above. The communication device can be implemented in hardware or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more units or modules corresponding to the above functions.

[0109] In one possible design, the communication device includes: a processor, which is configured to support the communication device in performing the corresponding functions of the network open function network element in the method shown above. The communication device may also include a memory, which can be coupled to the processor and stores the necessary program instructions and data for the communication device. Optionally, the communication device also includes an interface circuit, which is used to support communication between the communication device and other communication devices (or other core network network elements), such as the transmission and reception of data or signals. Exemplarily, the communication interface can be a transceiver, circuit, bus, module or other type of communication interface.

[0110] In one possible design, the communication device includes corresponding functional modules for implementing the steps in the above method. The functions can be implemented by hardware or by hardware executing corresponding software implementations. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above functions.

[0111] In one possible design, the structure of the communication device includes a processing unit and a communication unit, which can perform the corresponding functions in the above method example. For details, please refer to the description of the method provided in the second aspect, which will not be repeated here.

[0112] In a sixth aspect, the present application further provides a communication device, which is a unified data storage UDR network element or a chip corresponding to the unified data storage UDR network element. The communication device has the function of implementing any of the methods provided in the third aspect above. The communication device can be implemented in hardware or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more units or modules corresponding to the above functions.

[0113] In one possible design, the communication device includes: a processor, which is configured to support the communication device in executing the corresponding functions of the unified data storage UDR network element of the method shown above. The communication device may also include a memory, which can be coupled to the processor and stores the necessary program instructions and data for the communication device. Optionally, the communication device also includes an interface circuit, which is used to support communication between the communication device and other communication devices (or other core network network elements), such as the transmission and reception of data or signals. Exemplarily, the communication interface can be a transceiver, circuit, bus, module or other type of communication interface.

[0114] In one possible design, the communication device includes corresponding functional modules for implementing the steps in the above method. The functions can be implemented by hardware or by hardware executing corresponding software implementations. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above functions.

[0115] In one possible design, the structure of the communication device includes a processing unit and a communication unit, which can perform the corresponding functions in the above method example. For details, please refer to the description of the method provided in the third aspect, which will not be repeated here.

[0116] In the seventh aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising a processor and an interface circuit, the interface circuit being used to receive signals from other communication devices outside the communication device and transmit them to the processor or to send signals from the processor to other communication devices outside the communication device, the processor being used to implement the method in the aforementioned first aspect and any possible implementation manner through logic circuits or execution code instructions.

[0117] In an eighth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising a processor and an interface circuit, the interface circuit being used to receive signals from other communication devices outside the communication device and transmit them to the processor or to send signals from the processor to other communication devices outside the communication device, the processor being used to implement the method in the aforementioned second aspect and any possible design through logic circuits or execution code instructions.

[0118] In the ninth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising a processor and an interface circuit, the interface circuit being used to receive signals from other communication devices outside the communication device and transmit them to the processor or to send signals from the processor to other communication devices outside the communication device, the processor being used to implement the method in the aforementioned third aspect and any possible design through logic circuits or execution code instructions.

[0119] In the tenth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, which stores a computer program or instruction. When the computer program or instruction is executed by a processor, it implements the method of any one of the first to third aspects and any possible implementation methods thereof.

[0120] In an eleventh aspect, a computer program product storing instructions is provided, which, when executed by a processor, implements the method in the aforementioned first to third aspects and any possible implementations thereof.

[0121] In a twelfth aspect, a chip system is provided, comprising a processor and possibly a memory, for implementing the method of the first through third aspects and any possible implementation thereof. The chip system may be composed of a chip alone or may include a chip and other discrete components.

[0122] In the thirteenth aspect, a communication system is provided, which includes the session management function network element described in the first aspect, the network open function network element described in the second aspect, and the unified data storage UDR network element described in the third aspect (optional).

[0123] It should be noted that the technical effects that can be achieved by any possible implementation method of the above-mentioned fourth to thirteenth aspects or the fourth to thirteenth aspects can be correspondingly described with reference to the technical effects that can be achieved by any possible implementation method of the above-mentioned first to third aspects or the first to third aspects, and will not be repeated here. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0124] FIG1 is a flow chart of a solution for discovering EAS using EASDF;

[0125] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of a process of providing EAS deployment information by an AF network element through an NEF network element;

[0126] FIG3 is a flow chart showing a SMF network element obtaining EAS deployment information (EDI);

[0127] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of a network architecture to which the method according to an embodiment of the present application is applicable;

[0128] FIG5 is a flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0129] FIG6A is a schematic diagram of a process of the method according to Embodiment 1 of the present application;

[0130] FIG6B is a schematic diagram of the process of the method according to Embodiment 1 provided in this application;

[0131] FIG7A is a flow chart of another embodiment of the present application;

[0132] FIG7B is a schematic diagram of a time delay corresponding to an edge application server according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0133] FIG8A is a schematic diagram of a process of the method according to Embodiment 2 of the present application;

[0134] FIG8B is a schematic diagram of the process of the method according to the second embodiment of the present application;

[0135] FIG8C is a flow chart of another embodiment provided by the present application;

[0136] FIG9 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0137] FIG10 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0138] FIG11 is a schematic diagram of the device structure of a chip according to an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0139] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described clearly and completely below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application. The terms used in the following embodiments are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present application. As used in the specification and claims of this application, the singular expressions "one", "a kind of", "said", "above", "the" and "this" are intended to also include expressions such as "one or more", unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. In the embodiments of the present application, for the number of nouns, unless otherwise specified, it means "singular noun or plural noun", that is, "one or more". "At least one" means one or more, and "more" means two or more. "And / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can mean: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates that the related objects are in an "or" relationship. For example, A / B means: A or B. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c means: a, b, c, a and b, a and c, b and c, or a, b, and c, where a, b, and c can be single or plural.

[0140] References to "one embodiment" or "some embodiments" etc. described in this specification mean that one or more embodiments of the present application include specific features, structures or characteristics described in conjunction with the embodiment. Therefore, the phrases "in one embodiment", "in some embodiments", "in other embodiments", etc. that appear in different places in this specification do not necessarily all refer to the same embodiment, but mean "one or more but not all embodiments", unless otherwise specifically emphasized in other ways, and the "implementation methods" in this specification are the same as above. The terms "including", "comprising", "having" and their variations all mean "including but not limited to", unless otherwise specifically emphasized in other ways. Words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to indicate examples, illustrations or descriptions, and any embodiment or design described as "exemplary" or "for example" should not be interpreted as being more preferred or more advantageous than other embodiments or design schemes. The use of words such as "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present the relevant concepts in a concrete way for easy understanding.

[0141] The multiple involved in the embodiments of the present application refers to greater than or equal to two. It should be noted that in the description of the embodiments of the present application, the words "first", "second", "1", "2" and so on (except for special cases of numerical values) are used to distinguish the purpose of description, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance, nor can they be understood as indicating or implying order. In addition, the term "used to indicate" mentioned in the description of the embodiments of the present application can include being used for direct indication and being used for indirect indication. When describing a certain indication information for indicating A, it can include that the indication information directly indicates A or indirectly indicates A, and it does not mean that the indication information must carry A. In addition, the steps corresponding to the dotted boxes or dotted lines in the drawings of the specification are represented as optional steps.

[0142] In order to better understand the embodiments of the present application, the following first explains the relevant technical features and names involved in the embodiments of the present application. It should be noted that these explanations are intended to make the embodiments of the present application easier to understand and should not be regarded as limiting the scope of protection claimed by this application.

[0143] 1. Edge Computing (EC):

[0144] Edge computing (EC) as used in the embodiments of this application refers to a distributed open platform (architecture) that integrates core network, computing, storage, and application capabilities at the edge of the network, close to the source of objects or data. This platform provides edge intelligence services locally, meeting the key needs of industry digitalization in terms of agility, real-time services, data optimization, application intelligence, security, and privacy protection. It can serve as a bridge connecting the physical and digital worlds, enabling smart assets, smart gateways, smart systems, and smart services.

[0145] Currently, edge computing (EC) encompasses three distinct paradigms: cloudlets of open edge computing, fog computing (of the openFog consortium), and mobile edge computing (MEC) to multi-access edge computing (MEC). Cloudlets can connect to the cloud via a limited internet connection and possess powerful computing capabilities, enabling them to efficiently process tasks from diverse mobile devices. Furthermore, they operate very close to mobile devices. Fog computing distributes computing, storage, networking, control, and decision-making resources and services to any location in the cloud and objects. It is primarily used to address business scenarios such as the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality (VR), and fifth-generation mobile communication technology (5G). From mobile edge computing to multi-access edge computing, applications can be run within wireless base stations to provide services to mobile users.

[0146] Edge Hosting Environment (EHE): ​​The edge hosting environment (EHE) referred to in the embodiments of this application may refer to an environment that provides the necessary support for the execution of an edge application server (EAS). In an EC scenario, network applications or services can be deployed on the edge hosting environment (EHE), which can manage the applications or services.

[0147] Typically, 5GS can support the deployment of EHE in the data network (DN) outside the protocol data unit session anchor (PSA) user plane function (UPF), and the EHE can be controlled by the operator or a third party.

[0148] 2. Discovery of EAS:

[0149] In edge computing (EC) deployment scenarios, some services may be provided by multiple EASs deployed at the edge of the network. These EASs provide the same services and content, but have different IP addresses (except for anycast addresses, which are not considered in this invention). When a UE needs to access the service, the EC scenario requires it to access the available EAS closest to the UE. Therefore, the UE needs to obtain the IP address of the appropriate EAS.

[0150] In the R17 stage, the 3GPP standard TS23.548 defines a new network element EASDF to assist in EAS discovery. Its main function is to process DNS messages according to the instructions of SMF, including: reporting DNS messages to SMF, adding ECS ​​option (edns-client-subnet option, EDNS client subnet option, where edns = extended mechanisms for DNS) in the DNS query, forwarding the DNS query to the DNS server, forwarding the DNS response to the UE, etc.

[0151] Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of the process of using EASDF to perform EAS discovery in a non-roaming scenario. As shown in Figure 1, the specific process of using EASDF to perform EAS discovery is as follows:

[0152] Step S101: The process of establishing a PDU session.

[0153] How to establish a PDU session between the UE and the SMF network element can be implemented by referring to the existing technology and will not be described in detail here.

[0154] Step S102: The SMF network element selects an edge application server discovery function (EASDF) network element.

[0155] This step S102 may be triggered by the SMF network element receiving the Nsmf_PDUSession_CreateSMContext Request message sent by the AMF network element in the process of establishing a PDU session.

[0156] The SMF network element can select the EASDF network element based on one or more of the following information:

[0157] The DNN of the session, S-NSSAI, address of the EASDF network element, location of the EASDF network element, address of the PSA UPF, and data network access identifier (DNAI).

[0158] Step S103: The SMF network element sends a request for creating a DNS context (Neasdf_DNSContext Request) to the EASDF network element.

[0159] Step S104: the EASDF network element sends a DNS context creation response (easdf_DNSContext_Create Response) to the SMF network element.

[0160] The creation of the DNS context is achieved through the above steps S103-S104, and the steps S103-S104 are completed in the process of establishing the PDU session.

[0161] Therefore, after selecting the EASDF network element, the SMF network element can send the DNS processing rules to the EASDF network element through a DNS context request (Neasdf_DNSContext Request). After receiving the DNS processing rules, the EASDF network element can process the DNS message according to the DNS processing rules.

[0162] In the process of establishing a PDU session, the SMF network element can use the address of the EASDF network element as the address of the DNS server and send it to the UE through the AMF network element. That is, the SMF network element first sends the address of the EASDF network element to the AMF network element through the Namf_Communication_N1N2MessageTransfer message, and then the AMF network element forwards the address of the EASDF network element to the UE through the NAS message. During this transmission process, the AMF network element does not process it, that is, it forwards it transparently. After receiving this message, the UE can use the EASDF network element as a DNS server, that is, the UE sends a DNS Query message to the EASDF network element. It should be noted that the UE does not perceive the EASDF network element, but only thinks that it is the address of a DNS server.

[0163] The above steps S101-S104 can be regarded as a process of creating a DNS context, that is, they are all completed in the process of establishing a PDU session.

[0164] Step S105: The SMF network element sends a DNS context update request (Neasdf_DNSContext_Update Request) to the EASDF network element.

[0165] Step S106: The EASDF network element sends a DNS context update response (Neasdf_DNSContext_Update Reponse) to the SMF network element.

[0166] Steps S105 to S106 are a process in which the SMF network element updates the DNS processing rules according to changes in the deployment of edge services (or other reasons). Steps S105 to S106 may occur in the process of modifying the PDU session.

[0167] Step S107: The UE sends a DNS Query message to the EASDF network element. The DNS Query message includes a full qualified domain name (FQDN).

[0168] Because in the PDU session establishment process, SMF will configure the UE to use the EASDF address as the default address or source address (source IP) for sending DNS Query messages. Therefore, when EASDF receives a DNS Query message, it will first match the source address (source IP) of the DNS Query message with the source address in the DNS message handling rule. Because one EASDF can serve multiple sessions, there are different DNS message handling rules for each session. Therefore, when EASDF receives a DNS Query message, it needs to first determine the session and the corresponding DNS message handling rule to which this DNS Query message corresponds based on the source address. After matching the source address, EASDF will match the FQDN contained in the DNS Query message with the FQDN range in the above-mentioned DNS message handling rule. If it is within this range, the match is confirmed to be successful, otherwise the match fails.

[0169] If the match is successful, the FQDN in the DNS Query message is reported to the SMF network element through the DNS context notification request (carrying this FQDN) in the following step S108.

[0170] Step S108: The EASDF network element sends a DNS context notification request (Neasdf_DNSContext_Notify Request) to the SMF network element.

[0171] Step S109: The SMF network element sends a DNS context notification response (Neasdf_DNSContext_Notify Reponse) to the EASDF network element.

[0172] The notification response of the DNS context can be used to feedback that the SMF network element has successfully received the DNS context notification request (Neasdf_DNSContext_Notify Request) and the FQDN in the notification request.

[0173] Step S110: The SMF network element sends a DNS context update request (Neasdf_DNSContext_Update Request) to the EASDF network element.

[0174] That is, after receiving the FQDN, the SMF network element can determine the following two pieces of information based on the FQDN and the UE location:

[0175] (1): Determine the information required for the ECS option;

[0176] (2): L-DNS (local DNS) server address.

[0177] Therefore, in step S110, the DNS context update request (Neasdf_DNSContext_Update Request) sent by the SMF network element to the EASDF network element includes the information required to determine the ECS option, or carries the L-DNS (local DNS) server address.

[0178] In the above, ECS option is a DNS message extension item defined by the current protocol, which can be used to represent the location of the UE and can be used to assist the DNS server (DNS server) in resolving the IP address of the UE's local EAS. In addition, in the embodiment of the present application, there is no specific limitation on how the SMF network element obtains the ECS option or determines the information required for the ECS option. For example, the SMF network element can determine it based on local configuration, the DNAI of the UE, or the address of the local UPF.

[0179] L-DNS is a DNS server deployed locally on the UE. Even if the DNS Query message received by the DNS server from the EASDF does not contain information representing the UE's location, the DNS server can still resolve the UE's local EAS IP address based on its own location. In addition, in the embodiment of the present application, there is no specific limitation on how the SMF network element obtains (or determines) the L-DNS server address. For example, the SMF network element can determine it based on EAS deployment information (EDI).

[0180] Step S111: The EASDF network element sends a DNS context update response (Neasdf_DNSContext_Update Response) to the SMF network element.

[0181] This response can be used to notify the SMF network element that the EASDF network element has successfully received the DNS context update request, as well as the information required to determine the ECS option or the L-DNS (local DNS) server address carried in the update request.

[0182] Step S112: The EASDF network element sends a DNS Query message to the DNS server.

[0183] If the EASDF network element receives the "information required to determine the ECS option" from the SMF network element, the EASDF network element determines the ECS option based on the "information required to determine the ECS option." In step S112, the EASDF network element sends a DNS Query message carrying the ECS option to the DNS server, which then forwards the DNS Query message to the centralized DNS (C-DNS) server.

[0184] If the EASDF network element receives the L-DNS server address from the SMF network element, then in step S112, the EASDF network element forwards the DNS Query message to the L-DNS server according to the L-DNS server address.

[0185] Step S113: The DNS server returns a DNS response message (DNS Response) to the EASDF network element, wherein the DNS response message includes the IP address of the edge application server (EAS IP address).

[0186] After receiving the DNS Response message, the EASDF network element matches the EAS IP in the DNS Response message with the DNS processing rules. If a match is successful, the EASDF caches the DNS Response and reports the EAS IP to the SMF network element, executing steps S114 to S119. If the EAS IP / FQDN in the DNS Response message is not within the range indicated by the DNS processing rules, steps S114 to S118 are not executed, and step S119 is executed directly.

[0187] Step S114: the EASDF network element sends a DNS context notification request message (Neasdf_DNSContext_Notify Request, the Neasdf_DNSContext_Notify Request carries the EAS IP) to the SMF network element.

[0188] Step S115: The SMF network element sends a DNS context notification response Neasdf_DNSContext_Notify Response to the EASDF network element.

[0189] The Neasdf_DNSContext_Notify Response message may be used to notify the EASDF network element that the SMF network element has successfully received the Neasdf_DNSContext_Notify Request and the EAS IP in the Neasdf_DNSContext_Notify Request.

[0190] Step S116: The SMF network element inserts a diversion point and configures diversion rules according to the EAS IP.

[0191] Step S117: The SMF network element sends a Neasdf_DNSContext_Update Request to the EASDF network element. The Neasdf_DNSContext_Update Request is used to instruct the EASDF network element to forward the DNS Response cached by the EASDF network element to the UE.

[0192] Step S118: the EASDF network element sends a Neasdf_DNSContext_Update Response back to the SMF network element. The Neasdf_DNSContext_Update Response is used to notify the EASDF network element that the message has been successfully received.

[0193] Step S119: the EASDF network element sends the DNS response message (DNS Response) cached by the EASDF network element to the UE.

[0194] Through the above solution, a suitable edge application server (EAS) can be effectively discovered (determined) for the UE through the EASDF network element.

[0195] 3. EAS deployment information (EDI):

[0196] EDI can be stored in NEF network element or UDR network element, and EDI can be configured locally or provided / updated by AF network element. Moreover, EDI may also contain other information, which will not be described in detail in the embodiment of the present application.

[0197] Figure 2 shows a schematic diagram of a process of providing EAS deployment information from an AF network element through an NEF network element. As shown in Figure 2, the process includes the following steps:

[0198] S201: The AF network element sends a request for creating / updating / deleting EAS deployment information (Nnef_EASDeployment_Create / Update / Delete Request) to the NEF network element.

[0199] S202: NEF network element processing (NEF handling).

[0200] The NEF checks whether the AF is authorized to perform the request and whether it is authorized to provide EAS deployment information based on the operator's policy. If not explicitly received, the NEF determines the DNN and single network slice selection assistance (S-NSSAI) based on the AF's identity, and converts the received external application identity into an application identity known within the MNO domain.

[0201] If authorization is obtained (trusted), execute S203.

[0202] S203: The NEF network element sends a notification message (Nudr_DM_Create / Update / Delete) to the UDR network element.

[0203] S204: The UDR network element sends a UDR response (Nudr_DM_Create / Update / Delete Response) to the NEF network element.

[0204] After receiving the information, the UDR stores / updates / deletes the corresponding information.

[0205] S205: The NEF network element sends a response (Nnef_EASDeployment_Create / Update / Delete Response) of creating / updating / deleting EAS deployment information to the AF network element.

[0206] Figure 3 shows a schematic diagram of a process for an SMF network element to obtain EAS deployment information (i.e., EDI). As shown in Figure 3, the process includes the following steps:

[0207] S301: The SMF network element sends a subscription request (Nnef_EASDeployment_subscribe Request) to the NEF network element (UDR network element). The subscription request is used to request subscription to EDI.

[0208] S302: The NEF network element (UDR network element) sends a subscription response (Nnef_EASDeployment_subscribe Response) to the SMF network element.

[0209] S303: When EDI is updated, the NEF network element sends a notification request (Nnef_EASDeployment_Notify Request) to the SMF network element. The notification request is used to request to update EDI.

[0210] S304: The SMF network element sends a response (Nnef_EASDeployment_Notify Response) for updating EDI to the NEF network element.

[0211] The process shown in Figure 3 is executed at the node granularity, so the EDI obtained by the SMF network element can be used for multiple sessions or all sessions.

[0212] As described above for using EADF to discover EAS, the EASDF may report multiple EAS IP addresses to the SMF in step S114. When the EASDF returns multiple EAS IP addresses, the network side in existing solutions cannot obtain EAS-related information, such as the N6 latency between the EAS and the user plane functional network element and EAS load information. This can result in the network side being unable to select a suitable EAS for the user equipment, thereby affecting the user equipment's communication quality.

[0213] In view of the above problems, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, which enables the network side to obtain EAS-related information from the application function network element, such as the N6 delay between the EAS and the user plane function network element and the EAS load information, and then in the process of discovering or determining the EAS, it can effectively select a suitable EAS for the terminal device / user device based on the relevant information of the EAS to ensure the communication quality of the terminal device / user device.

[0214] The method provided in the embodiment of the present application can be applied to a fourth generation (4G) communication system, such as a long term evolution (LTE) communication system, or to a fifth generation (5G) communication system, such as a 5G new radio (NR) communication system, or to various future communication systems, such as a sixth generation (6G) communication system. The method provided in the embodiment of the present application can also be applied to a narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) system. The method provided in the embodiment of the present application can also be applied to a satellite communication system, wherein the satellite communication system can be integrated with the above-mentioned communication system. Of course, the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application can also be applied to other communication systems, as long as the communication system has the requirements proposed in this application. In addition, the communication system can also be applied to future-oriented communication technologies. The system and network architecture described in the embodiment of the present application are for a clearer explanation of the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application. It is known to those skilled in the art that with the evolution of the network architecture, the technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application is also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0215] Figure 4 shows a schematic diagram of a possible, non-restrictive network architecture to which the method of an embodiment of the present application can be applied. The network architecture mainly includes: a network storage function (NF repository function, NRF) network element, a policy control function (PCF) network element, an application function (AF) network element, a unified data management (UDM) network element, a network data analysis function (NWDAF) network element, an access and mobility management function (AMF) network element, a session management function (SMF) network element, a network exposure function (NEF) network element, an edge application server discovery function (EASDF) network element, a user equipment (UE), a (radio) access network (R)AN), a user plane function (UPF) network element, a central data network (central DN), and an edge application server (EAS). Among them, the UPF network elements specifically include UPF (UL CL / BP), UPF (C-PSA), and UPF (L-PSA).

[0216] Nnrf, Namf, Npcf, Nsmf, Naf, Nnef, Nudm, Nnwdaf, and Neasdf correspond to the service-based interfaces presented by the NRF network element, AMF network element, PCF network element, SMF network element, AF network element, NEF network element, UDM network element, NWDAF network element, and EASDF network element, respectively; N1 is the reference point between the UE and the AMF network element, N2 is the reference point between the (R)AN and the AMF network element, N3 is the reference point between the AN and the UPF (UL CL / BP) network element, N4 is the reference point between the SMF and UPF (UL CL / BP) or UPF (C-PSA) or UPF (L-PSA), and N6 is the reference point between the UPF (C-PSA) or UPF (L-PSA) and the DN.

[0217] NRF network element: used to register, manage, and detect the status of network modules (NFs). Each NF must register with the NRF network element when it starts to be provided with services.

[0218] PCF network element: used to provide policy rules to network entities for implementation, supporting a unified policy framework to manage network behavior and access subscription information in the unified data store (UDR).

[0219] AF network elements: These interact with the 5G core network to provide services. These elements support the impact on service routing, exposure of network access capabilities, and interaction with policy decision network elements for policy management. Application server (AS) network elements can be co-deployed with the AF and interact with the UPF to transmit, receive, and process user plane downlink and downlink messages.

[0220] UDM network element: used to provide storage capabilities for post-contract data, policy data, and capability exposure-related data.

[0221] NWDAF network element: collects data from NFs (such as SMF, UPF, AMF, etc.), application functions (AF), and the operator's network operation, administration, and maintenance (OAM) system, analyzes the collected data, and feeds the analysis results back to NFs and AFs for subsequent processing.

[0222] AMF network element: Mainly responsible for the encryption and security of NAS messages, registration, access, mobility, authentication, transparent transmission of SMS and other functions. The AMF entity can be compared to the mobility management MME entity in 4G.

[0223] SMF network element: Mainly responsible for session management in mobile networks, such as session establishment, modification, and release. Specific functions include allocating IP addresses to users and selecting the UPF that provides packet forwarding functions.

[0224] NEF network element: mainly manages open network data. All external applications must go through the NEF entity to access the internal data of the 5G core network.

[0225] EASDF network element: It is mainly used to assist in the discovery of edge application services (EAS). Specifically, the EASDF network element can process domain name server (DNS) messages according to the instructions of the SMF network element, including: reporting the DNS message to the SMF network element, adding the DNS extended mechanisms for DNS (EDNS) client subnet option (edns-client-subnet option, ECS option) in the DNS query, forwarding the DNS query to the DNS server, and forwarding the DNS response message to the terminal device UE.

[0226] UE: User equipment, also known as terminal equipment, mobile station (MS), mobile terminal (MT), etc., refers to a device that provides voice and / or data connectivity to users. For example, a terminal device can be a handheld device or vehicle-mounted device with wireless connection capabilities. Currently, some examples of terminal devices can include: mobile phones, tablets, laptops, PDAs, mobile internet devices (MIDs), wearable devices, virtual reality (VR) devices, augmented reality (AR) devices, wireless terminals in industrial control, wireless terminals in self-driving, wireless terminals in remote medical surgery, wireless terminals in smart grids, wireless terminals in transportation safety, wireless terminals in smart cities, wireless terminals in smart homes, etc.

[0227] (R)AN: This node is primarily responsible for providing wireless connectivity for terminal devices, ensuring reliable transmission of uplink and downlink data. This can be a 3GPP access network or a non-3GPP access network (such as common Wi-Fi access). For example, when a mobile phone accesses the Internet, the (R)AN node is the base station.

[0228] In one possible scenario, an access network device can be a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), a transmitting and receiving point (TRP), a transmitting point (TP), a next-generation NodeB (gNB), a next-generation base station in a sixth-generation (6G) mobile communication system, a base station in a future mobile communication system, a satellite, an access point (AP) in a WiFi system, an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, a mobile switching center, or a network device in a non-terrestrial network (NTN) communication system, i.e., it can be deployed on a high-altitude platform or satellite. The access network device can be a macro base station, a micro base station, an indoor station, a relay node or a donor node, or a wireless controller in a cloud radio access network (CRAN) scenario. The access network device can also be a device that functions as a base station in device-to-device (D2D) communication, vehicle-to-vehicle communication, drone communication, or machine communication. Optionally, the access network device may also be a server, a wearable device, a vehicle or an onboard device, etc. For example, the access network device in vehicle to everything (V2X) technology may be a road side unit (RSU).

[0229] In another possible scenario, multiple access network devices collaborate to assist the terminal in achieving wireless access, and different access network devices respectively implement part of the functions of the base station. For example, the access network device can be a centralized unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a CU-control plane (CP), a CU-user plane (UP), or a radio unit (RU). The CU and DU can be set separately, or they can also be included in the same network element, such as a baseband unit (BBU). The RU can be included in a radio frequency device or a radio frequency unit, such as a remote radio unit (RRU), an active antenna unit (AAU), or a remote radio head (RRH). It can be understood that the access network device can be a CU node, a DU node, or a device including a CU node and a DU node. In addition, the CU can be divided into a device in the radio access network RAN, or the CU can be divided into a device in the core network (CN), without limitation here.

[0230] In different systems, CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU or RU may also have different names, but those skilled in the art can understand their meanings. For example, in an open radio access network (open RAN, ORAN) system, CU may also be called O-CU (open CU), DU may also be called O-DU, CU-CP may also be called O-CU-CP, CU-UP may also be called O-CU-UP, and RU may also be called O-RU. For the convenience of description, this application takes CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, DU and RU as examples for description. Any unit of CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU and RU in this application can be implemented by a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module.

[0231] UPF network element: used for routing and forwarding user data packets, data interaction with the external data network DN, user plane quality of service (QoS) processing, and flow control rule implementation (such as gating, redirection, and traffic steering).

[0232] Typically, in a session, the UPF network element directly connected to the data network DN via N6 is called a PDU session anchor (PSA). A central or remote PSA is called a central PSA (C-PSA), which can access a remote / cloud-based EHE or AS. A local PSA is called a local PSA (L-PSA), which can access a local EHE or EAS. An uplink classifier (UL CL) / branching point (BP) can be used to divert service traffic to different routes according to specific rules.

[0233] EAS: Provides users with access to the network and enables communication with other server devices. Typically, edge application servers are a group of servers that perform a single function, such as firewall servers, cache servers, load balancing servers, and DNS servers. For the IoT, the continuous development of edge computing technology allows many controls to be performed locally, rather than in the cloud. Processing is now performed locally at the edge computing layer, significantly improving processing efficiency and reducing the load on the cloud. Being closer to users also allows for faster responses, enabling their needs to be met at the edge.

[0234] Central DN: For example, operator services, Internet services, or third-party services.

[0235] It is understandable that the above-mentioned network elements or functions can be network elements in hardware devices, software functions running on dedicated hardware, or virtualized functions instantiated on a platform (for example, a cloud platform). As a possible implementation method, the above-mentioned network elements or functions can be implemented by one device, or by multiple devices together, or can be a functional module within a device. The embodiments of the present application do not specifically limit this. In addition, for the convenience of explanation, in the embodiments of the present application, "xxx network element" can also be referred to as "xxx", for example, the AMF network element can be referred to as AMF, and the SMF network element can be referred to as SMF.

[0236] In the embodiments of the present application, the functions of the network device may also be performed by a module (such as a chip) in the network device, or by a control subsystem that includes the network device functions. The control subsystem that includes the network device functions here may be a control center in the above-mentioned application scenarios such as smart grid, industrial control, smart transportation, and smart city. The functions of the terminal device may also be performed by a module (such as a chip or a modem) in the terminal device, or by a device that includes the terminal device functions.

[0237] The network architecture and application scenarios (business scenarios) described in the embodiments of the present application are intended to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application. Ordinary technicians in this field can know that with the evolution of network architecture and the emergence of new application scenarios (business scenarios), the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0238] In this application, the names of the messages (or information) in the following processes are merely examples. With the evolution of communication technology, the names of the messages (or information) in the following processes may change. However, no matter how the names change, as long as their meanings are the same as the functions or meanings of the messages (or information) in this application, they fall within the scope of protection of this application.

[0239] The following is a corresponding introduction to the solutions of the embodiments of the present application.

[0240] The embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, which is applicable to but not limited to the network architecture shown in Figure 4. The method can be executed by a session management function network element and a network open function network element; or the method can be executed by a component (module, chip, etc.) corresponding to the session management function network element and a component (module, chip, etc.) corresponding to the network open function network element; or the method can be executed by a device corresponding to the session management function network element and a device corresponding to the network open function network element; it can be understood that the present application does not specifically limit the specific structure of the execution subject of the method provided in the embodiment of the present application and the number of each execution subject, as long as it is possible to communicate according to the method provided in the embodiment of the present application by running a program that records the code of the method provided in the embodiment of the present application. For ease of description, the interaction between the session management function network element and the network open function network element is used as an example. The order of the steps in the following processes is only an example. In actual applications, the execution order of the steps in each process can be adjusted.

[0241] Referring to FIG5 , the specific process of the method may include the following:

[0242] S501: The session management function network element sends first subscription information to the network open function network element, where the first subscription information is used to request subscription to edge deployment information. Correspondingly, the network open function network element receives the first subscription information.

[0243] S502: The network openness function network element sends edge deployment information to the session management function network element, where the edge deployment information includes information indicating at least one application function network element associated with the edge deployment information. Correspondingly, the session management function network element receives the edge deployment information.

[0244] In this embodiment of the present application, the information used to indicate at least one application function network element associated with the edge deployment information may include, but is not limited to, one or more of the following:

[0245] The identification information of the at least one application function network element, the address information of the at least one application function network element, the address information of the at least one network open function network element, and the identification information of the at least one network open function network element.

[0246] The address information of the at least one network open function network element and / or the identification information of the at least one network open function network element may correspond one-to-one, many-to-one, or one-to-many to the at least one application function network element, without limitation. In one possible implementation, the address information of the at least one network open function network element corresponds one-to-one to the at least one application function network element, and the identification information of the at least one network open function network element corresponds one-to-one to the at least one application function network element.

[0247] In the embodiment of the present application, the edge deployment information may also include but is not limited to information of at least one application and / or first indication information;

[0248] The information of each application in the at least one application may include identification information of the application (eg, identity ID) and / or fully qualified domain name (FQDN) information corresponding to the application.

[0249] The at least one application includes an application that meets a first condition, and the first condition may include at least one of the following:

[0250] (1) End-to-end latency requirements, such as the latency requirements from the terminal device to the edge application server (EAS); (2) Load requirements of the edge application server (EAS); (3) N6 latency requirements between the edge application server (EAS) and the local protocol data unit session anchor (L-PSA);

[0251] The first indication information may be used to indicate or identify applications that meet the first condition, so that the session management function may effectively and accurately determine which applications meet the first condition from the at least one application based on the first indication information.

[0252] In this embodiment of the present application, the information of the application that meets the first condition may further include at least one of the following:

[0253] The end-to-end delay requirement corresponding to the application that meets the first condition, the N6 delay requirement corresponding to the application that meets the first condition, and the load requirement of the edge application server EAS corresponding to the application that meets the first condition.

[0254] In an embodiment of the present application, the end-to-end latency requirement corresponding to an application meeting the first condition may be a preset end-to-end latency threshold or latency range corresponding to the application, etc. The N6 latency requirement corresponding to an application meeting the first condition may be a preset N6 latency threshold or N6 latency range corresponding to the application. The load requirement of an edge application server (EAS) corresponding to an application meeting the first condition may be a preset EAS load threshold or load range corresponding to the application.

[0255] In a possible implementation, the method may further include: the network open function network element receives first deployment information from at least one application function network element, and the first deployment information of each application function network element includes the address information of the application function network element and / or the identification information of the application function network element.

[0256] After the network open function network element receives the first deployment information from the at least one application function network element, the method may further include the following:

[0257] If the at least one application function network element is an application function network element that can be trusted by the network or an application function network element that has been authorized by the network, the network open function network element can send the first deployment information of the at least one application function network element to the unified data storage UDR network element.

[0258] If the at least one application function network element is an application function network element that can be trusted by the network or an application function network element that has been authorized by the network, the network open function network element may generate the address information of the corresponding network open function network element and / or the identification information of the network open function network element based on the address information of each application function network element, and generate a corresponding mapping relationship, where the mapping relationship is used to characterize the correspondence between the address information of the network open function network element and the address information of the application function network element; and then send the second deployment information of the at least one application function network element to the unified storage data UDR network element; the second deployment information of each application function network element may include but is not limited to at least one of the following:

[0259] Address information of network open function network element, identification information of network open function network element, and mapping relationship (optional).

[0260] In one possible implementation, the method may further include: the network open function network element may send a first request message to the unified storage data UDR network element, the first request message being used to request edge deployment information, and accordingly, the UDR network element receives the first request message; the UDR network element sends a first response message to the network open function network element, the first response message including the edge deployment information. Accordingly, the network open function network element receives the edge deployment information. Through this implementation, after receiving the first subscription information from the session management function network element, the network open function network element may request and obtain edge deployment information from the UDR network element, and then effectively send the edge deployment information to the session management function. In an optional case, this implementation may be executed after the network open function network element receives the first subscription information from the session management function network element.

[0261] In an embodiment of the present application, the first deployment information and / or second deployment information of each application function network element may further include information and / or indication information of at least one application; the information of each application in the at least one application may include, but is not limited to, identification information of the application (e.g., identity ID) and / or fully qualified domain name (FQDN) information corresponding to the application; the at least one application includes an application that meets the first condition; the indication information is used to indicate or identify the application that meets the first condition. The first condition may include at least one of the following:

[0262] End-to-end (e.g., terminal device to EAS) latency requirements, EAS load requirements, and N6 latency requirements between the EAS and the local protocol data unit session anchor (L-PSA).

[0263] Furthermore, the information of the application meeting the first condition may further include at least one of the following:

[0264] The end-to-end delay requirements corresponding to the application (such as the delay threshold or delay range between the terminal device and EAS), the N6 delay requirements corresponding to the application (such as the N6 delay threshold or delay range, etc.), and the load requirements of the edge application server EAS corresponding to the application (such as the EAS load percentage threshold, or the EAS load threshold or range, etc.).

[0265] In a possible implementation, the method for implementing the present application may further include the following steps:

[0266] Step 1: The session management function network element receives a first message from the edge application server discovery function EASDF network element. The first message includes the address information (such as IP address) of at least one edge application server EAS corresponding to the target application and the information of the target application. The information of the target application may include the identification information of the target application and / or the fully qualified domain name FQDN information corresponding to the target application.

[0267] In an embodiment of the present application, the target application may refer to an application corresponding to a service initiated or accessed by a terminal device, such as an application (app) corresponding to a service requested by a UE.

[0268] Step 2: The session management function network element determines that the target application is an application that meets the first condition based on the information of the target application and the information of the application that meets the first condition.

[0269] Exemplarily, the session management function network element may match the identification information of the target application (or the FQDN corresponding to the target application) with the identification information of the application that meets the first condition (or the FQDN corresponding to the application that meets the first condition). If the matches are consistent, it is determined that the target application belongs to the application that meets the first condition.

[0270] Step 3: The session management function network element obtains the delay information corresponding to the at least one EAS and / or the load information corresponding to the at least one EAS.

[0271] Step 4: The session management function network element determines the address information of the target EAS from the address information of the at least one EAS based on the delay information corresponding to the at least one EAS and / or the load information corresponding to the at least one EAS, and determines the target L-PSA for accessing the target EAS.

[0272] Through this implementation method, the session management function network element can select a suitable target EAS and target L-PSA from the at least one EAS based on the delay information and / or load information corresponding to the at least one EAS of the target application, and provide the address information of the target EAS to the terminal device in the subsequent process, thereby ensuring the communication quality of the subsequent terminal device.

[0273] In another possible implementation, the method for implementing the present application may further include the following steps:

[0274] Step 1: The session management function network element receives a first message from the edge application server discovery function EASDF network element. The first message includes the address information (such as IP address) of at least one edge application server EAS corresponding to the target application and the information of the target application. The information of the target application may include the identification information of the target application and / or the fully qualified domain name FQDN information corresponding to the target application.

[0275] Step 2: The session management function network element determines that the target application is an application that meets the first condition based on the information of the target application and the information of the application that meets the first condition.

[0276] Exemplarily, the session management function network element may match the identification information of the target application (or the FQDN corresponding to the target application) with the identification information of the application that meets the first condition (or the FQDN corresponding to the application that meets the first condition). If the matches are consistent, it is determined that the target application belongs to the application that meets the first condition.

[0277] Step 3: The session management function network element obtains the delay information corresponding to the at least one EAS and / or the load information corresponding to the at least one EAS.

[0278] Step 4: When the second condition is met, the session management function network element sends a second indication message to the edge application server discovery function EASDF network element, where the second indication message instructs the execution of the edge application server rediscovery process and / or the local protocol data unit session anchor L-PSA selection process; wherein the second condition may include but is not limited to any one or more of the following:

[0279] (1) The end-to-end delay information (such as the delay from the terminal device to the edge application server EAS) corresponding to the at least one EAS does not meet the end-to-end delay requirement (such as the delay from the terminal device to the edge application server EAS) corresponding to the target application; (2) The N6 delay corresponding to the at least one EAS does not meet the N6 delay requirement corresponding to the target application; (3) The trigger information of the rediscovery process of the edge application server of the first application function network element corresponding to the target application is received (that is, the rediscovery process of the EAS is triggered by the first application function network element corresponding to the target application).

[0280] In the above (1), the end-to-end (e.g., terminal device to EAS) delay information corresponding to the at least one EAS does not meet the end-to-end (e.g., terminal device to EAS) delay requirement corresponding to the target application, which may include but is not limited to the following situations:

[0281] Case 1: The end-to-end delay corresponding to the at least one EAS exceeds the end-to-end delay threshold (or delay range, etc.) corresponding to the target application.

[0282] In the embodiment of the present application, the end-to-end delay may be the delay from the terminal device to the edge application server EAS (including the processing delay of the EAS).

[0283] Case 2: When the session management function network element receives the load information of the at least one EAS sent from the first application function network element, it determines that the end-to-end delay information corresponding to the at least one EAS (such as the delay information from the terminal device to the EAS) does not meet the end-to-end delay requirement corresponding to the target application (such as the delay requirement from the terminal device to the EAS); wherein the load information of each EAS in the at least one EAS is sent when the first application function determines that the load of the EAS exceeds a load threshold. (That is, the first application function corresponding to the target application directly or indirectly sends the load information of the EAS to the session management function when determining that the load of the EAS exceeds the load threshold, so as to trigger the execution of the EAS rediscovery process). The load threshold may be determined by the session management function network element based on the end-to-end delay requirement corresponding to the target application (such as the delay requirement from the terminal device to the EAS) and provided to the first application function network element.

[0284] In the above (2), the N6 delay corresponding to the at least one EAS does not meet the N6 delay requirement corresponding to the target application, which may include but is not limited to: the second delay corresponding to the at least one EAS exceeds the N6 delay threshold corresponding to the target application (or the N6 delay range corresponding to the target application).

[0285] In a possible implementation, when the second condition (2) is met, the session management function network element may trigger the execution of the edge application server EAS rediscovery process and / or the L-PSA selection process.

[0286] In the embodiment of the present application, the delay information corresponding to the EAS (any EAS of at least one EAS corresponding to the target application) may include one or more of the following:

[0287] (1) Processing delay (i.e., processing delay of the edge application server EAS), (2) a first delay between the terminal device and at least one L-PSA; the at least one L-PSA may refer to at least one L-PSA that the EAS can access. (3) a second delay between the EAS and at least one L-PSA that can access the EAS. The second delay is the N6 delay between the L-PSA and the EAS.

[0288] The delay information corresponding to the above EAS is introduced below.

[0289] In one possible implementation, the delay information corresponding to the EAS (any one of the at least one EAS corresponding to the target application) includes the processing delay corresponding to the EAS; then in the above step 3, the session management function network element obtains the delay information corresponding to the at least one EAS, which may include: the session management function network element obtains the processing information corresponding to the at least one EAS.

[0290] In the embodiment of the present application, the session management function network element may obtain the processing information corresponding to the at least one EAS in the following ways, but not limited to:

[0291] Method 1: The session management function network element determines the processing delay corresponding to the at least one EAS based on the load information corresponding to the at least one EAS and the preset mapping information (known to the SMF); wherein the preset mapping information includes the correspondence between the load information corresponding to the at least one EAS and the processing delay corresponding to the at least one EAS.

[0292] Mode 2: The session management function network element determines the processing delay corresponding to the at least one EAS according to the load information corresponding to the at least one EAS and a preset model.

[0293] The preset model may be, but is not limited to, trained based on collected historical data (such as load information of the edge application server and processing delay of the edge application server).

[0294] In one possible implementation, the target application corresponds to a first application function network element, and the information for indicating at least one application function associated with the edge deployment includes information for indicating the first application function network element associated with the edge deployment information. The session management function network element obtains the load information corresponding to the at least one EAS, which may include the following:

[0295] Case 1: The information indicating at least one application function network element associated with the edge deployment information includes address information of a first application function network element corresponding to the target application:

[0296] Corresponding to situation 1, the session management function network element obtains the load information corresponding to the at least one EAS, which may include: the session management function network element sends first information to the first application function network element; and then receives the load information of the at least one EAS or the load information of the EAS in the at least one EAS that meets the third condition from the first application function network element.

[0297] Case 2: The information indicating at least one application function network element associated with the edge deployment information includes first address information of a network open function network element corresponding to a target application:

[0298] Corresponding to case 2, the session management function network element obtains the load information corresponding to the at least one EAS, which may include the following:

[0299] Step 2.1: The session management function network element sends first information to the network open function network element; correspondingly, the network open function network element receives the first information.

[0300] The first information is used to request load information of the at least one EAS, or the first information is used to indicate a third condition; the first information may include the address information of the at least one EAS and / or the third condition. In this embodiment of the present application, the third condition may include, but is not limited to: feedback of corresponding load information when the load of the at least one EAS meets a load threshold.

[0301] Step 2.2: The network open function network element determines the address information of the first application function network element corresponding to the target application.

[0302] In step 2.2, in one possible implementation, the network open function network element determines the address information of the first application function network element corresponding to the target application by, but not limited to, the following methods:

[0303] Method 1: The network open function network element determines the address information of the first application function network element based on the mapping relationship between the first address information of the network open function network element and the first application function network element; the mapping relationship corresponding to the first application function network element is used to characterize the correspondence between the first address information of the network open function network element and the address information of the first application function network element.

[0304] Method 2: The network open function network element sends a second request message to the UDR network element. The second request message is used to request the address information of the first application function network element. The second request message includes the first address information of the network open function network element. Then, the network open function network element can receive the address information of the first application function network element from the UDR network element.

[0305] Step 2.3: The network open function network element sends the first information to the first application function network element. Correspondingly, the first application function network element receives the first information.

[0306] Step 2.4: The first application function network element sends the load information of the at least one EAS or the load information of the EAS in the at least one EAS that meets the third condition to the network open function network element; accordingly, the network open function network element receives the load information of the at least one EAS or the load information of the EAS in the at least one EAS that meets the third condition.

[0307] Step 2.5: The network openness function network element sends the load information of the at least one EAS or the load information of the EAS in the at least one EAS that meets the third condition to the session management function network element.

[0308] In one possible implementation, the latency information corresponding to the EAS (any one of the at least one EAS corresponding to the target application) includes a first latency between a terminal device and at least one local protocol data unit session anchor L-PSA; and the session management function network element obtaining the latency information corresponding to any one of the at least one EAS may include: the session management function network element obtaining the first latency between the terminal device corresponding to any one of the at least one EAS and the at least one local protocol data unit session anchor L-PSA. The at least one L-PSA is an L-PSA accessible to the EAS.

[0309] For any of the EASs, the session management function network element obtains a first delay between the corresponding terminal device and at least one L-PSA, which may include the following steps:

[0310] Step 1: A session management function network element obtains at least one third delay and a fourth delay between an access network device and a terminal device; the at least one third delay is the delay between at least one L-PSA and the access network device, and the at least one L-PSA is an L-PSA accessible to the EAS. Step 2: The session management function network element determines a first delay between the terminal device and the at least one L-PSA based on the at least one third delay and the fourth delay.

[0311] In the embodiment of the present application, the session management function network element may obtain the at least one third delay in the following manners, including but not limited to:

[0312] The session management function network element sends a first notification message to each L-PSA that can access the EAS, and the first notification message is used to instruct the L-PSA to measure the third delay between the L-PSA and the access network device; then the session management function network element receives the third delay between each L-PSA that can access the EAS and the access network device.

[0313] For example, taking EAS1 as an example: the L-PSAs that EAS1 can access include L-PSA1 and L-PSA2, then the session management function SMF network element sends first notification information to L-PSA1 and L-PSA2 respectively to instruct to measure the delay between the device and the RAN.

[0314] In addition, in an embodiment of the present application, each L-PSA may also periodically measure the delay between itself and the RAN, wherein the execution period may be configured by the session management function network element to each L-PSA, or may be negotiated and agreed upon between the L-PSA and the session management function SMF network element, and is not limited to this.

[0315] In an embodiment of the present application, the session management function network element obtains the fourth delay between the access network device and the terminal device, which may include but is not limited to: the session management function network element sends a second notification message to the access network device, and the second notification message is used to instruct the access network device to measure the fourth delay between the access network device and the terminal device; and then receives the fourth delay sent from the access network device.

[0316] For example, taking EAS1 as an example: the L-PSAs that EAS1 can access include L-PSA1 and L-PSA2, then the session management function SMF network element first obtains the delay 1 between L-PSA1 and the access network device RAN (collectively referred to as the third delay), the delay 2 between L-PSA2 and the access network device RAN (collectively referred to as the third delay), and the delay 3 between the access network device and the UE (i.e., the fourth delay).

[0317] Based on the delay 1 between L-PSA1 and the access network device (collectively referred to as the third delay) and the delay 3 between the access network device and the UE (i.e., the fourth delay), the delay between L-PSA1 and the UE (collectively referred to as the first delay) can be determined.

[0318] Based on the delay 2 between L-PSA2 and the access network device (collectively referred to as the third delay) and the delay 3 between the access network device and the UE (i.e., the fourth delay), the delay between L-PSA2 and the UE (collectively referred to as the first delay) can be determined.

[0319] In the embodiments of this application, multiple first delays refer to the delays corresponding to different sections of the same type, not the delays corresponding to multiple identical sections. For example, the delay from L-PSA1 to the UE and the delay from L-PSA2 to the UE can be collectively referred to as the first delay, and the same applies to the second and third delays.

[0320] In one possible implementation, the delay information corresponding to the EAS (any EAS of at least one EAS corresponding to the target application) includes a second delay between the EAS and at least one L-PSA; the method implemented in this application may further include the following steps:

[0321] The session management function network element instructs each L-PSA that can access the EAS to measure a second time delay between the L-PSA and the EAS.

[0322] Among them, the session management function network element instructs each L-PSA that can access the EAS to measure the second delay between itself and the EAS, which may include but is not limited to: the session management function network element subscribes to the second delay information to each L-PSA, and instructs the L-PSA to measure the delay between itself and the EAS when the corresponding N6 delay exceeds the N6 delay requirement corresponding to the target application (such as the N6 delay threshold or range), or periodically measures the delay between itself and the EAS.

[0323] In another possible implementation, the delay information corresponding to the EAS (any EAS of at least one EAS corresponding to the target application) includes a second delay between the EAS and at least one local protocol data unit session anchor L-PSA; the method of the embodiment of the present application may further include:

[0324] Case 1: When the information indicating at least one application function network element related to the edge deployment information includes the address information of the first application function network element corresponding to the target application:

[0325] Corresponding to scenario 1, the session management function network element may send the second information to the first application function network element. Thus, after receiving the second information, the first application function network element may send / provide the session management function network element with a second delay between the EAS (any one of the at least one EAS corresponding to the target application) and the at least one local protocol data unit session anchor L-PSA.

[0326] Case 2: When the information indicating at least one application function network element related to the edge deployment information includes the first address information of the network open function network element corresponding to the target application:

[0327] Corresponding to situation 2, the session management function network element first sends the second information to the network open function; accordingly, after receiving the second information, the network open function network element determines the address information of the first application function network element corresponding to the target application, and then sends the second information to the first application function network element. In one possible implementation, the network open function network element determines the address information of the first application function network element corresponding to the target application through, but not limited to, the following methods:

[0328] Method 1: The network open function network element determines the address information of the first application function network element based on the mapping relationship between the first address information of the network open function network element and the first application function network element; the mapping relationship corresponding to the first application function network element is used to characterize the correspondence between the first address information of the network open function network element and the address information of the first application function network element.

[0329] Method 2: The network open function network element sends a second request message to the UDR network element. The second request message is used to request the address information of the first application function network element. The second request message includes the first address information of the network open function network element. Then, the network open function network element can receive the address information of the first application function network element from the UDR network element.

[0330] Furthermore, after receiving the second information, the first application function network element sends a second delay between the EAS (any one of the at least one EAS corresponding to the target application) and at least one local protocol data unit session anchor L-PSA to the network open function network element. The network open function network element then sends the second delay between the EAS and at least one local protocol data unit session anchor L-PSA to the session management function network element.

[0331] In the above, the second information is used to request a second delay between the EAS (any one of the at least one EAS corresponding to the target application) and at least one local protocol data unit session anchor L-PSA (e.g., at least one L-PSA that can access the EAS); the second information may include one or more of the following:

[0332] The first address information of the network open function network element, the address information of the EAS, the data network access identifier DNAI corresponding to the EAS, and the third information;

[0333] The third information is used to request a second time delay between at least one L-PSA corresponding to the EAS and the EAS that can be accessed within the area indicated by the DNAI.

[0334] In summary, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, comprising: a session management function network element sending first subscription information to a network open function network element, the first subscription information being used to request subscription to edge deployment information; and the session management function network element receiving edge deployment information from the network open function network element, the edge deployment information including information indicating at least one application function network element associated with the edge deployment information. In this method, the session management function network element can obtain the edge deployment information from the network open function network element. Because the edge deployment information includes information indicating at least one application function network element associated with the edge deployment information, the at least one application function network element can be directly or indirectly determined based on the information, thereby facilitating the subsequent session management function network element to effectively obtain information required for subsequent processes from the at least one application function network element, such as the terminal device to EAS latency required for the EAS discovery / determination process, the N6 latency between the L-PSA and the EAS, and EAS load information.

[0335] The solution described in FIG. 5 is described in detail below with reference to several specific implementations.

[0336] Implementation 1: In this implementation, the network open function is taken as an example of NEF1. Referring to FIG6A , the process of this implementation may include the following steps:

[0337] S601A: AF1 sends deployment information 1 to NEF1. Correspondingly, NEF1 receives deployment information 1 from AF1.

[0338] The deployment information 1 of AF1 (i.e., an example of the first deployment information of the application function network element in the solution described in FIG. 5 ) may include but is not limited to at least one of the following:

[0339] Identification information of AF1 (eg, ID of AF1), address information of AF1, and endpoint information of AF1 providing the deployment information 1.

[0340] In addition, the deployment information 1 of AF1 also includes information of at least one application, and the information of each application may include identification information of the application and the FQDN corresponding to the application.

[0341] The at least one application may include at least one application that meets the first condition. The first condition may include considering one or more of the end-to-end delay requirement, the N6 delay requirement between the L-PSA and the EAS, and the EAS load requirement. In this embodiment of the present application, the end-to-end delay may be the delay from the UE to the EAS, and the delay from the UE to the EAS includes the transmission delay between the UE and the EAS and the processing delay of the EAS.

[0342] In an embodiment of the present application, an application that meets the first condition is an application that needs to consider at least one of the end-to-end delay requirements, the N6 delay requirements between L-PSA and EAS, and the load requirements of EAS. Applications that meet the first condition can be called sensitive applications, etc.

[0343] In the above, the information of each application that meets the first condition may also include at least one of the end-to-end (such as UE to EAS) delay requirement corresponding to the application, the N6 delay requirement corresponding to the application, and the load requirement of the EAS corresponding to the application.

[0344] In one possible implementation, in the information of an application that meets the first condition, the end-to-end (e.g., UE to EAS) delay requirement corresponding to the application may be a preset delay threshold or delay range, etc. In the information of an application that meets the first condition, the N6 delay requirement corresponding to the application may be a preset delay threshold or delay range, etc., and the EAS load requirement corresponding to the application may be a preset load threshold or load range, etc. This application is not limited to this.

[0345] For example, the UE-to-EAS delay requirement for an application that meets the first condition is that the UE-to-EAS delay cannot exceed a preset delay threshold or a preset delay range. The N6 delay requirement for an application that meets the first condition is that the N6 delay between the L-PSA and EAS corresponding to the application cannot exceed a preset delay threshold or a delay range. The EAS load requirement for an application that meets the first condition is that the load of the EAS corresponding to the application cannot exceed a preset load threshold or a load range.

[0346] For example, Table 1 below shows an example of information about at least one application provided by AF1. For example, AF1's deployment information 1 includes information about four applications, of which Application 1, Application 2, and Application 3 meet the first condition, and Application 4 does not meet the first condition. As shown in Table 1, the information about these four applications includes an identifier and a corresponding FQDN. Application 1 is an application that needs to consider the UE-to-EAS latency requirement, and its information also includes a UE-to-EAS latency threshold of 1. Application 2 is an application that needs to consider both the UE-to-EAS latency requirement and the EAS load requirement. Its information also includes a UE-to-EAS latency threshold of 2 and a corresponding EAS load threshold of 1. Application 3 is an application that needs to consider both the UE-to-EAS latency requirement, the EAS load requirement, and the N6 latency requirement. Its information also includes a UE-to-EAS latency threshold of 3, a corresponding N6 latency threshold, and a corresponding EAS load threshold of 2.

[0347] Table 1

[0348] The above Table 1 is only an example. In actual applications, compared with Table 1, the applications and application information sent / provided by AF1 to NEF may be more or less, and this is not limited.

[0349] In one possible implementation, the deployment information 1 of AF1 may further include first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate / identify an application that meets the first condition. This application does not limit how the first indication information is used to indicate an application that meets the first condition. For example, the first indication information may indicate identification information or a corresponding FQDN of the application that meets the first condition.

[0350] For example, as shown in Table 1, the first indication information may indicate the identifier 1 (or index) of application 1, the identifier 2 (or index) of application 2, and the identifier 3 (or index) of application 3. The first indication information may also indicate FQDN1, FQDN2, and FQDN3.

[0351] In another possible implementation, the information of each application meeting the first condition in the deployment information 1 of AF1 further includes additional indication information / identifier, which is used to mark the application as meeting the first condition. For example, as shown in Table 1 above, the information of application 1, application 2, and application 3 each further includes an identifier unique to the application meeting the first condition.

[0352] In the embodiment of the present application, the deployment information 1 of AF1 may not be limited to the information mentioned above, but may also include other information, which is not limited to this.

[0353] S602A: NEF1 performs processing based on the deployment information 1 of AF1.

[0354] In one possible implementation, NEF1 determines whether AF1 is a trusted application function in the following cases:

[0355] Case 1: AF1 is a trusted / authorized application function network element.

[0356] Case 2: AF1 is an untrusted / unauthorized application function network element. NEF1 can generate corresponding NEF1 address information 1 and / or NEF1 identification information 1 based on AF1's address information, and generate corresponding mapping relationship 1. Mapping relationship 1 is used to represent the correspondence between NEF1's address information 1 and AF1's address information.

[0357] In a possible implementation, mapping relationship 1 may also be used to represent one or more of the following corresponding relationships:

[0358] (1) The correspondence between the identification information 1 of NEF1 and the identification information of AF1; (2) The correspondence between the address information 1 of NEF1 and the identification information of AF1; (3) The correspondence between the identification information of NEF1 and the address information of AF1.

[0359] In a possible implementation, NEF1 may further generate a mapping relationship between address information 1 of NEF1 and identification information 1 of NEF1.

[0360] S603A: NEF1 sends AF1 information to UDR. Correspondingly, UDR receives AF1 information.

[0361] Corresponding to the above-mentioned situation 1, NEF1 can directly store AF1's deployment information 1 in UDR, that is, the AF1 information sent by NEF1 to UDR is AF1's deployment information 1; or NEF1 sends AF1 information to UDR, and the AF1 information includes part or all of the information in AF1's deployment information 1.

[0362] Corresponding to the above-mentioned scenario 2, NEF1 replaces the AF1-related information (such as AF1's address information, AF1's identification information, and AF1's endpoint information) in AF1's deployment information 1 with the NEF1's address information 1 and / or NEF1's identification information 1 generated by NEF1, while leaving other information in the deployment information 1 unchanged. That is, the AF1 information sent by NEF1 to the UDR (i.e., the example of the second deployment information of the application function network element in the solution described in FIG5 ) includes NEF1's address information 1 and / or NEF1's identification information 1, as well as other information in the deployment information 1 (the information of the at least one application provided by AF1). Optionally, the AF1 information also includes the above-mentioned first indication information.

[0363] Corresponding to the above-mentioned situation 2, optionally, the information of AF1 may further include mapping relationship 1 generated by NEF1 for AF1.

[0364] The above S601A-S603A is a detailed introduction using AF1 as an example of an application function network element. In actual applications, there may be other AFs that can store deployment information in the UDR through NEF1, and the implementation methods of the above S601A-S603A can all be referred to. For example, for AF2, the information in AF2's deployment information 2 can specifically refer to the above description of the information in AF1's deployment information 1, and the execution steps can be performed with reference to S601A-S603A, which will not be described in detail here. In addition, for other NEFs involved (such as NEF2), the implementation methods of NEF1 can also be referred to, and will not be repeated here.

[0365] For example, assuming that NEF1 determines that AF1 and AF2 are untrusted application function network elements, NEF1 may establish / generate address information 1 and identification information 1 (e.g., ID_01 or index 1) of NEF1 and mapping relationship 1 for the address information of AF1. NEF1 may establish / generate address information 2 and identification information 2 (e.g., ID_02 or index 2) of NEF2 and mapping relationship 2 for the address information of AF2, as shown in Table 2 below.

[0366] Table 2

[0367] The above Table 2 is only an example. In actual applications, compared with Table 2, NEF1 establishes more or less information for the untrusted AF, which is not limited.

[0368] Similarly, in the present application, NEF1 may also establish a mapping relationship between AF and other information of NEF1 by referring to the method of establishing / generating a mapping relationship between AF's address information and NEF1's address information, without limitation. For example, when AF1 is an untrusted application function network element, NEF1 may establish a mapping relationship between NEF1's identification information 1 and AF1's address information, or establish a mapping relationship between NEF1's identification information 1 and AF1's identification information, or establish a mapping relationship between NEF1's endpoint information and AF1's endpoint information, and so on.

[0369] Through the above steps, each AF (including AF1) can effectively store the information provided by itself in the UDR through NEF1, so that when the information provided by these AFs is needed in the future, it can be effectively obtained from the UDR.

[0370] For example, AF1, AF2 and AF3 store information to the UDR through NEF1 respectively. Assuming that AF1 and AF2 are untrusted application functions and AF3 is a trusted application function, the information stored by these three AFs to the UDR through NEF1 can be shown in Table 3 below. As shown in Table 3, for untrusted AF1 and AF2, NEF1 stores to the UDR the address information and / or identification information of NEF1 processed and generated by NEF1, as well as other information from AF1 and AF2. For trusted AF3, NEF1 directly stores the address information and / or identification information and other information of AF3 to the UDR. In addition, the indication information 1 corresponding to AF1 is used to indicate or identify which of the at least one application it provides is an application that meets the first condition, and the same applies to the indication information corresponding to AF2 and AF3.

[0371] Table 3

[0372] The above Table 3 is only an example. In actual applications, the information stored by each AF to the UDR through the NEF1 may be more or less than that in Table 3, and this is not limited.

[0373] S604A: SMF sends subscription information of edge deployment information EDI to NEF1. Correspondingly, NEF1 receives the subscription information of EDI.

[0374] S605A: NEF1 sends a first request message to the UDR, where the first request message is used to request edge deployment information. Correspondingly, the UDR receives the first request message.

[0375] S606A: UDR sends a first response message to NEF1. Correspondingly, NEF1 receives the first response message.

[0376] Referring to the above S603A, the UDR may carry the above information of the at least one AF from NEF1 (eg, the content shown in Table 3) in the first response information and send it to NEF1.

[0377] S607A: NEF1 sends edge deployment information EDI to SMF. Correspondingly, SMF receives edge deployment information EDI.

[0378] The information carried in the edge deployment information EDI sent by NEF1 to SMF may be part of or all of the information carried in the above-mentioned first response information.

[0379] In the embodiment of the present application, for an untrusted AF, the corresponding mapping relationship generated by NEF1 may not be sent to the SMF.

[0380] For example, the information carried in the edge deployment information EDI may be as shown in Table 3, but does not include the mapping relationship in Table 3.

[0381] In another embodiment of the present application, if S604A is executed before S601A, that is, NEF1 receives the subscription information for the edge deployment information EDI from the SMF before receiving the AF deployment information. In this case, after NEF1 receives the subscription information for the edge deployment information EDI from the SMF: NEF1 receives the deployment information of at least one AF, processes the deployment information of the at least one AF, carries the processed AF information in the edge deployment information EDI, and sends it directly to the SMF (equivalent to not needing to go through the NEF to request the UDR later), and also stores the at least one AF information in the UDR.

[0382] For example, taking AF1 as an example, SMF requests NEF1 to subscribe to EDI. See the process shown in Figure 7A: S701: SMF sends EDI subscription information to NEF1. S702: NEF1 receives AF1's deployment information 1 (refer to S601A above). S703: NEF1 processes based on AF1's deployment information 1 (refer to S602A above). S704: NEF1 sends AF1's information to SMF. S705: NEF1 sends AF1's information to UDR. Among them, S705 is an optional step. The execution order of S701 and S702 is not limited, and the execution order of S704 and S705 is not limited.

[0383] Furthermore, referring to FIG6B , the first embodiment may further include the following steps:

[0384] S601B: SMF instructs EASDF to execute the EAS discovery process.

[0385] In a possible implementation, the specific steps of the process of EASDF executing EAS discovery may refer to S101 to S113 in the EAS discovery process shown in FIG. 1 , and will not be described in detail here.

[0386] S602B: The EASDF sends a first message to the SMF, where the first message includes at least one EAS IP and FQDN1 corresponding to application 1. Correspondingly, the SMF receives the first message.

[0387] Application 1 corresponding to FQDN1 is an example of the target application in the solution described in FIG. 5 .

[0388] S602B may be equivalent to S114 in the EAS discovery process shown in FIG. 1 , and the first message is equivalent to the DNS context notification request Neasdf_DNSContext_Notify Request.

[0389] S603B: The SMF determines whether application 1 is an application that meets the first condition.

[0390] In one possible implementation, after receiving the EAS IP(S) and FQDN1, the SMF determines whether the application 1 corresponding to the FQDN1 meets or satisfies the first condition. If the application 1 meets the first condition, the following steps are executed; if the application 1 does not meet the first condition, the following steps are not executed.

[0391] For example, the SMF may determine the identification information of application 1 based on FQDN1 and the mapping relationship between FQDN1 and the identification information of application 1, wherein the mapping relationship and the identification information of application 1 may be pre-stored in the SMF. The SMF then matches the identification information of application 1 with the identification information of the application meeting the first condition received by the SMF, that is, determines whether the identification information of the application meeting the first condition contains the identification information of application 1. If the identification information of application 1 is included, application 1 is determined to be an application meeting the first condition; if the identification information of application 1 is not included, application 1 is determined not to be an application meeting the first condition.

[0392] For another example, the SMF may determine whether the information of application 1 contains an identifier unique to the application that meets the first condition. If so, the SMF determines that application 1 is an application that meets the first condition; otherwise, the SMF determines that application 1 is not an application that meets the first condition.

[0393] In one possible implementation, SMF matches application 1 as an application that meets the first condition. Since FQDN1 matches the FQDN1 corresponding to the application that meets the first condition, and since SMF knows which AF provides FQDN1, SMF can determine the AF corresponding to application 1.

[0394] For example, assuming that the SMF determines that the application function corresponding to application 1 is AF1, if in the first information received by the SMF in S607A above, NEF1 provides the SMF with NEF1's address information 1 and / or NEF1's identification information 1 for AF1, the SMF executes steps S604B-S608B below. If in the first information received by the SMF in S607A above, NEF1 provides the SMF with AF1's address information 1 and / or AF1's identification information 1 for AF1, the SMF executes steps S609B-S610B below.

[0395] S604B: SMF sends load request information to NEF1. Correspondingly, NEF1 receives the load request information.

[0396] For example, if the EDI received by the SMF in the above S607A includes the address information 1 of NEF1 and / or the identification information 1 of NEF1, then the SMF sends a load request message to NEF1 in S604B.

[0397] The load request information includes at least one EAS IP and / or load indication information corresponding to application 1. Optionally, the load request information may also include address information 1 of NEF 1 and / or identification information 1 of NEF 1.

[0398] In the embodiment of the present application, the load request information may include the following functions:

[0399] Function 1: The load request information may be used to request the load information of the at least one EAS.

[0400] Function 2: The load request information can be used to indicate that the load information of the EAS is fed back when a preset condition is met (i.e., an example of the third condition in the scheme described in Figure 5 above); the preset condition may include but is not limited to feeding back the load information of the EAS when the load of the EAS exceeds a load threshold.

[0401] For function 2, optionally, the load request information may further include the preset condition and / or load threshold.

[0402] Function 3: The load request information can be used to request / instruct periodic feedback of EAS load information.

[0403] For case 3, optionally, the load request information may further include a period provided by the SMF.

[0404] In the embodiment of the present application, AF1 can also proactively provide EAS load information to SMF according to a preset period. The preset period can be pre-negotiated between AF1 and SMF, or configured by SMF and indicated to AF1, which is not specifically limited.

[0405] With reference to the function of the load request information, the function of the load indication information can be similar.

[0406] S605B: NEF1 determines the address information of AF1.

[0407] For example, NEF1 determines the address information of AF1 in the following ways, including but not limited to:

[0408] Implementation method 1: NEF1 determines the address information of AF1 according to the address information 1 of NEF1 and / or the identification information 1 of NEF1.

[0409] In implementation mode 1, NEF1 itself has mapping relationship 1, and mapping relationship 1 is used to indicate the correspondence between address information 1 of NEF1 and address information of AF1.

[0410] If the load request information received by NEF1 includes address information 1 of NEF1, NEF1 may determine address information of AF1 according to address information 1 of NEF1 and mapping relationship 1 (the mapping relationship 1 is already stored by NEF1).

[0411] If the load request information received by NEF1 includes NEF1's identification information 1, NEF1 can first determine NEF1's address information 1 based on NEF1's identification information 1 and the correspondence between NEF1's identification information 1 and NEF1's address information 1; and then determine AF1's address information based on NEF1's address information 1 and mapping relationship 1.

[0412] Implementation method 2: NEF1 sends a request message to UDR to request the address information of AF1 and receives the address information of AF1 from UDR.

[0413] Optionally, the request information includes address information 1 of NEF1 and / or identification information 1 of NEF1.

[0414] In implementation 2, the UDR stores mapping relationship 1, which is used to indicate the correspondence between address information 1 of NEF1 and address information of AF1. Optionally, the UDR also stores the correspondence between address information 1 of NEF1 and identification information 1 of NEF1.

[0415] If the request information received by the UDR includes the address information 1 of NEF1, the UDR determines the address information of AF1 according to the address information 1 of NEF1 and the mapping relationship 1; and then the UDR sends the address information of AF1 to NEF1.

[0416] If the request information received by the UDR includes the identification information 1 of NEF1, the UDR first determines the address information 1 of NEF1 based on the identification information 1 of NEF1 and the correspondence between the address information 1 of NEF1 and the identification information 1 of NEF1; the UDR then determines the address information of AF1 based on the address information 1 of NEF1 and the mapping relationship 1, and finally the UDR sends the address information of AF1 to NEF1.

[0417] S606B: NEF1 sends a load request message to AF1, and AF receives the load request message accordingly.

[0418] The load request information may include the at least one EAS IP and / or load indication information corresponding to application 1.

[0419] The load request information here can refer to the introduction of the load request information in S604B above, and will not be repeated here.

[0420] S607B: AF1 sends load response information to NEF1. Correspondingly, NEF1 receives the load response information.

[0421] Corresponding to function 1 of the above-mentioned load request information, the load response information sent by AF1 includes the load information of the at least one EAS.

[0422] Corresponding to function 2 of the above-mentioned load request information, the load response information sent by AF1 includes the load information of the EAS that meets the preset conditions.

[0423] Corresponding to function 3 of the load request information, the high load response information sent by AF1 includes load information of some EASs or all EASs in the at least one EAS.

[0424] Optionally, the load response information may further include the at least one EAS IP or an EAS IP that meets a preset condition (an example of the third condition in the solution described in FIG. 5 ).

[0425] In the present application, the load information of each EAS provided by AF1 may be the load percentage of the EAS, or the load level of the EAS, or the throughput carried by the EAS, etc., which is not limited.

[0426] S608B: NEF1 sends load response information to SMF, and SMF receives the load response information accordingly.

[0427] NEF1 forwards the load response information from AF1 to SMF. The load response information here can refer to the introduction of the load response information in S607B above, which will not be repeated here.

[0428] S609B: SMF sends load request information to AF1. Correspondingly, AF1 receives the load request information.

[0429] For example, if the EDI received by the SMF in S607A includes AF1's address information and / or AF1's identification information, the SMF in S609B sends a load request message to AF1. The load request message includes at least one EAS IP address and / or load indication information corresponding to Application 1. The load request message in S609B is similar to the load request message in S604B and is not further described here.

[0430] S610B: AF1 sends load response information to SMF, and SMF receives the load response information accordingly.

[0431] The load response information in S610B is similar to the load response information in S607B above. Please refer to the introduction in S607B and will not be repeated here.

[0432] The above steps S604B-S608B and the above steps S609B-S610B are two parallel implementations, and one of the implementations is executed.

[0433] S611B: The SMF determines the processing delay of the at least one EAS according to the load information of the at least one EAS.

[0434] Exemplarily, the SMF determines the processing delay corresponding to the at least one EAS according to the load information of the at least one EAS, which may include but is not limited to the following methods:

[0435] Method 1: SMF determines the processing delay of the at least one EAS based on the load information of the at least one EAS and preset mapping information; the preset mapping information includes a mapping relationship (or corresponding relationship) between the load information of the at least one EAS and the processing delay of the at least one EAS.

[0436] In a possible implementation, there is a one-to-one correspondence between the load information of the at least one EAS and the processing delay of the at least one EAS.

[0437] For example, the load information received by the SMF for the at least one EAS includes the load information of EAS1 and the load information of EAS2. The SMF determines the processing delay of EAS1 based on the load information of EAS1 and the mapping relationship between the load information of EAS1 and the processing delay of EAS1. The SMF determines the processing delay of EAS2 based on the load information of EAS2 and the mapping relationship between the load information of EAS2 and the processing delay of EAS2.

[0438] Method 2: The SMF determines the processing delay of the at least one EAS based on the load information of the at least one EAS and a preset model. The preset model may be pre-trained based on historical data such as the collected EAS load information and the EAS processing delay.

[0439] S612B: The SMF instructs / notifies each L-PSA and RAN to cooperate to complete the service quality measurement to obtain the delay between each L-PSA and the UE.

[0440] In a possible implementation, when the SMF executes S612B, the following steps may be included:

[0441] Step 1: SMF notifies RAN to measure the latency between RAN and UE.

[0442] For example, the RAN may perform measurements with the UE using existing technologies to obtain the delay between the RAN and the UE. The delay between the RAN and the UE may include the transmission delay between the RAN and the UE, and optionally, may also include the processing delay of the RAN and / or the processing delay of the UE.

[0443] Step 2: The SMF determines the latency between each L-PSA that the EAS can access and the RAN.

[0444] For example, the discovered EASs are EAS1 and EAS2. It is assumed that the SMF determines that the L-PSAs that EAS1 and EAS2 can access include: L-PSA1, L-PSA2, and L-PSA3.

[0445] The SMF instructs L-PSA1 to perform measurement with the RAN, and obtains a delay 1 between L-PSA1 and the RAN.

[0446] The SMF instructs L-PSA2 to perform measurement with the RAN to obtain a delay 2 between L-PSA2 and the RAN.

[0447] The SMF instructs L-PSA3 to perform measurement with the RAN to obtain a delay 3 between L-PSA3 and the RAN.

[0448] Step 1 and step 2 in S612B may be executed synchronously or asynchronously, and the order of execution is not limited.

[0449] Step 3: The SMF obtains the delay between the RAN measurement and the UE, as well as the delay between each L-PSA measurement that the EAS can access and the RAN. The SMF then determines the delay between each L-PSA and the UE based on the delay between the RAN measurement and the UE, as well as the delay between each L-PSA measurement that the EAS can access and the RAN.

[0450] In one possible implementation, the delay T between the L-PSA and the UE satisfies the formula T=T1+T2; where T1 is the delay between the L-PSA and the RAN, and T2 is the delay between the RAN and the UE.

[0451] For example, the SMF adds the delay 1 between L-PSA1 and RAN to the delay between RAN and UE to obtain the delay 4 between L-PSA1 and UE. The SMF adds the delay 2 between L-PSA2 and RAN to the delay between RAN and UE to obtain the delay 5 between L-PSA2 and UE. The SMF adds the delay 3 between L-PSA3 and RAN to the delay between RAN and UE to obtain the delay 6 between L-PSA3 and UE.

[0452] In another possible implementation, the delay between each L-PSA and the UE in S612B may be pre-configured, and the above-mentioned measurement may not be performed.

[0453] S613B: SMF notifies the measurement of the real-time N6 delay between each L-PSA and the EAS(s) corresponding to application 1.

[0454] In an embodiment of the present application, the SMF may notify each L-PSA to measure the N6 delay between the EAS(s) corresponding to application 1 and feed it back to the SMF; or the SMF may notify each L-PSA to measure the corresponding N6 delay when determining that the N6 delay between any of the EAS(s) corresponding to application 1 exceeds the N6 delay threshold corresponding to application 1, and feed it back to the SMF; or the SMF may notify each L-PSA to periodically measure the N6 delay between the EAS(s) corresponding to application 1 according to the measurement period and feed it back to the SMF; or each L-PSA measures the N6 delay between the EAS(s) corresponding to application 1 according to the measurement period and feeds it back to the SMF. The measurement period may be pre-negotiated and agreed upon between the SMF and each L-PSA, or configured to each L-PSA by the SMF, and there is no limitation on this.

[0455] For example, assume that the SMF determines that the L-PSAs that can access EAS1 are L-PSA1 and L-PSA2, and the L-PSA that can access EAS2 is L-PL-PSA3.

[0456] SMF notifies / instructs L-PSA1 to measure the real-time N6 delay 1 between L-PSA1 and EAS1, and notifies / instructs L-PSA2 to measure the real-time N6 delay 2 between L-PSA2 and EAS1. SMF also notifies / instructs L-PSA3 to measure the real-time N6 delay 3 between L-PSA3 and EAS2.

[0457] It should be noted that this application does not limit the order of executing the above-mentioned process of measuring the processing delay of EAS (S604B-S608B (or S609B-S610B) and 611B), the process of measuring the delay between UE and each L-PSA (S612B), and the process of measuring the real-time N6 delay between each L-PSA and EAS(s) (S613B).

[0458] In this embodiment of the present application, the N6 delay between each of the above-mentioned L-PSAs and the EAS(s) corresponding to application 1 can also be provided by AF1. Then, the SMF can send a request message 1 to AF1 directly or indirectly through NEF1. The request message 1 may include the following functions:

[0459] Function 1: Request information 1 is used to request AF1 to obtain the N6 delay between each L-PSA and the EAS(s) corresponding to application 1.

[0460] Function 2: Request information 1 is used to instruct AF1 to feedback the corresponding N6 delay when it determines that the N6 delay between L-PSA and EAS exceeds the N6 delay threshold (or delay range) corresponding to application 1.

[0461] Function 3: Request message 1 is used to instruct AF1 to send / provide the N6 delay between each L-PSA and the EAS(s) corresponding to application 1 to the SMF according to a preset period. For this function, request message 1 can carry a preset period, which can be configured by the SMF.

[0462] In addition, AF1 can also actively send the N6 delay between each L-PSA and the EAS(s) corresponding to application 1 to SMF according to a preset period. The preset period can be pre-negotiated and set between AF1 and SMF, or configured to AF1 by SMF, which is not limited.

[0463] In one possible implementation, request information 1 may include at least one EAS IP corresponding to application 1 and a data network access identifier (DNAI) corresponding to each EAS IP (optional), as well as second indication information (optional). The second indication information is used to instruct AF1 to provide the N6 delay between the L-PSA that can access the EAS in the area corresponding to the DNAI and the EAS.

[0464] For example, if the request message 1 includes DNAI_1 corresponding to the EAS1 IP, the second indication message instructs AF1 to provide the N6 delay between at least one L-PSA and EAS1, where the at least one L-PSA is an anchor point that can access EAS1 within the area corresponding to DNAI_1. After receiving the request message 1, AF1 can directly or indirectly send a response message 1 to the SMF through NEF1. The response message 1 includes the EAS1 IP (optional) and the N6 delay between each L-PSA in the at least one L-PSA and EAS1.

[0465] If the SMF receives the address information and / or identification information of AF1, it can directly send the request information 1 to AF1. After receiving the request information 1, AF1 sends a response information 1 to the SMF based on the request information 1. The response information 1 includes the real-time N6 delay between each L-PSA and the EAS(s) corresponding to application 1.

[0466] If the SMF receives the address information 1 and / or identification information 1 of NEF1, it can send the request information 1 to NEF1, and then NEF1 determines the address information and / or identification information of AF1, and then sends the SMF request information 1 to AF1. After receiving the request information 1, AF1 sends a response information 1 to NEF1 based on the request information 1. The response information 1 includes the N6 delay between each L-PSA and the EAS(s) corresponding to application 1. NEF1 then forwards the response information 1 to the SMF.

[0467] For example, the EAS(s) corresponding to application 1 are EAS1 and EAS2. L-PSA1 and L-PSA2 can connect to EAS1, and L-PSA3 can connect to EAS2. AF1, based on the EAS1 and EAS2 IP addresses, returns response information 1 including: N6 latency 1 between L-PSA1 and EAS1, N6 latency 2 between L-PSA2 and EAS1, and N6 latency 3 between L-PSA3 and EAS2.

[0468] In one possible implementation, the request information 1 sent by the SMF to AF1 directly or indirectly via NEF1 may be different from or the same as the load request information in S604B or S609B. For example, the load request information in S604B or S609B may be used to request both the load information of at least one EAS and the N6 latency corresponding to at least one EAS.

[0469] S614B: The SMF selects an appropriate EAS and L-PSA based on the measured delays and / or load information of the EASs.

[0470] For example, as shown in FIG7B , for EAS1, the delays corresponding to the following lines are included:

[0471] (1) UE—L-PSA1—EAS1: The latency between L-PSA1 and UE is 4, the real-time N6 latency between L-PSA1 and EAS1 is 1, and the processing latency of EAS1 is 1.

[0472] (2) UE—L-PSA2—EAS1: The latency between L-PSA2 and UE is 5%, the real-time N6 latency between L-PSA2 and EAS1 is 2, and the processing latency of EAS1.

[0473] For EAS2, the delays for the following lines are included:

[0474] (1) UE—L-PSA3—EAS2: The latency between L-PSA3 and UE is 6%, the real-time N6 latency between L-PSA and EAS2 is 3%, and the processing latency of EAS2 is 3%. The real-time N6 latency between L-PSA and EAS2 is 3%, and the latency between L-PSA2 and UE is 6%.

[0475] In the embodiments of the present application, the SMF selects the appropriate EAS and L-PSA based on the measured delays and / or EAS load information, which may include but is not limited to the following implementations:

[0476] Implementation method 1: If application 1 is an application that needs to consider the end-to-end (UE to EAS) delay requirements, SMF can select the appropriate EAS and L-PSA based on the delay from each EAS to UE corresponding to application 1.

[0477] For example, as shown in Figure 7B, the SMF calculates the total delay 1 of the line UE--L-PSA1-EAS1, which is the sum of the delay 4, the N6 delay 1, and the processing delay of EAS1. The SMF calculates the total delay 2 of the line UE--L-PSA2-EAS1, which is the sum of the delay 5, the N6 delay 2, and the processing delay of EAS1. The SMF calculates the total delay 3 of the line UE--L-PSA3-EAS2, which is the sum of the delay 6, the N6 delay 3, and the processing delay of EAS2. The SMF selects the smallest total delay from the total delay 1, the total delay 2, and the total delay 3. For example, if the value of the total delay 2 is the smallest, the SMF determines EAS1 and L-PSA2 as the edge application server and local PDU session anchor point to be used in the end.

[0478] For another example, as shown in Figure 7B, the SMF determines whether the total delay 1, the total delay 2, and the total delay 3 meet the end-to-end (UE to EAS) delay requirement corresponding to application 1. In one possible implementation, the SMF determines whether the total delay 1, the total delay 2, and the total delay 3 do not exceed the delay threshold (pre-set) from UE to EAS corresponding to application 1, or do not exceed the delay range from UE to EAS corresponding to application 1.

[0479] If the SMF determines that the total delay 2 does not exceed the delay threshold or delay range from UE to EAS, that is, the total delay 2 meets the end-to-end delay requirement corresponding to application 1, the SMF determines to use EAS1 and L-PSA2 as the edge application server and local PDU session anchor point to be used.

[0480] Implementation method 2: If application 1 is an application that needs to consider the N6 delay requirement between L-PSA and EAS, SMF can select the appropriate EAS and L-PSA based on the N6 delay between each L-PSA and the EAS(s) corresponding to application 1.

[0481] For example, as shown in Figure 7B, the SMF selects the smallest delay from N6 delay 1 between L-PSA1 and EAS1, N6 delay 2 between L-PSA2 and EAS1, and N6 delay 3 between L-PSA3 and EAS2. If the SMF determines that N6 delay 2 between L-PSA2 and EAS1 is the smallest, the SMF determines that EAS1 and L-PSA2 will be used as the edge application server and local PDU session anchor point to be ultimately used.

[0482] For another example, as shown in Figure 7B, the SMF determines whether the N6 delay 1 between L-PSA1 and EAS1, the N6 delay 2 between L-PSA2 and EAS1, and the N6 delay 3 between L-PSA3 and EAS2 meet the N6 delay requirement corresponding to application 1. In one possible implementation, the SMF determines whether the N6 delay 1, N6 delay 2, and N6 delay 3 do not exceed the N6 delay threshold or delay range corresponding to application 1. If the SMF determines that the N6 delay 2 does not exceed the N6 delay threshold or delay range corresponding to application 1, that is, the N6 delay 2 between L-PSA2 and EAS1 meets the N6 delay requirement corresponding to application 1, the SMF determines to use EAS1 and L-PSA2 as the edge application server and local PDU session anchor point to be finally used.

[0483] Implementation method 3: If application 1 is an application that needs to consider EAS load requirements, SMF can select a suitable EAS and L-PSA based on the load information of at least one EAS corresponding to application 1.

[0484] The SMF may select the EAS with the smallest load based on the load information of at least one EAS corresponding to application 1 (such as the EAS load percentage, the EAS load level, or the throughput carried by the EAS). Alternatively, the SMF may determine which EASs' loads meet the load requirements of the EAS corresponding to application 1 based on the load information of at least one EAS corresponding to application 1, and select the EAS that meets the load requirements as the final EAS to be used.

[0485] For example, if application 1 corresponds to EAS1 and EAS2, and the load percentage of EAS1 is lower than that of EAS2, EAS1 is selected as the final EAS. Alternatively, if the load percentage of EAS1 does not exceed the preset load percentage threshold (i.e., the EAS load requirement), EAS1 is selected as the final EAS.

[0486] The above examples illustrate several exemplary implementations of the SMF selecting appropriate EAS and L-PSA based on the measured delays. In practical applications, the SMF may also select an appropriate EAS based on the measured delays (such as N6 delay, end-to-end delay) and EAS load information, but this application does not impose specific limitations on this.

[0487] In S614B, the SMF can select an appropriate EAS IP that meets the requirements (such as end-to-end delay requirements and / or EAS load requirements). After S614B, the steps that are performed can refer to the steps in the existing EAS discovery process, such as S115-S116 in the process shown in Figure 1 above.

[0488] In S614B, if the SMF does not select a suitable EAS IP, for example, at least one EAS corresponding to application 1 does not meet the requirements (such as the end-to-end delay corresponding to each EAS does not meet the delay requirement corresponding to application 1, and / or, the N6 delay corresponding to each EAS does not meet the N6 delay requirement corresponding to application 1, and / or, the load corresponding to each EAS does not meet the load requirement corresponding to application 1), the following S615B is executed.

[0489] S615B: SMF sends the updated DNS processing rules to EASDF. Correspondingly, EASDF receives the updated DNS processing rules.

[0490] S615B is equivalent to S117 in the process shown in Figure 1 above. After receiving the updated DNS processing rules (such as the DNeasdf_DNSContext_Update Request message in S117 of the process shown in Figure 1 above), the EASDF matches the updated DNS processing rules to determine the corresponding DNS response. Furthermore, the EASDF sends a corresponding notification message (i.e., the DNS response) to the UE (i.e., executes downlink S616B).

[0491] S616B: The EASDF sends a notification message to the UE, and the UE receives the notification message accordingly.

[0492] In the above S614B, if the SMF is able to select an appropriate EAS IP that meets the requirements (such as end-to-end delay requirements and / or EAS load requirements), the notification message (i.e., DNS response) sent by the EASDF to the UE is used to notify the UE of the selected appropriate EAS IP and / or L-PSA. The notification message (i.e., DNS response) carries the appropriate EAS IP.

[0493] In the above S614B, if the SMF does not select a suitable EAS IP that meets the requirements (such as end-to-end delay requirements and / or EAS load requirements), the notification message (i.e., DNS response) sent by the EASDF to the UE is used to notify the UE that there is no suitable EAS IP and L-PSA.

[0494] In a possible implementation, the process shown in the first embodiment may further include the following steps:

[0495] S617B: When the SMF determines that application 1 does not have a suitable EAS and / or L-PSA, it instructs the execution of the edge application server EAS rediscovery process and / or reselection of the L-PSA.

[0496] For example, for application 1, the SMF determines that there is no suitable EAS and / or L-PSA, and instructs / triggers the execution of the EAS rediscovery process and / or reselection of the L-PSA, which may include but is not limited to the following situations:

[0497] Case 1: When the SMF determines that application 1 does not have a suitable EAS and L-PSA based on the load information of the EAS corresponding to application 1, it instructs / triggers the execution of the EAS rediscovery process of the edge application server.

[0498] In case 1, AF1 may send EAS load information to SMF based on the load threshold corresponding to application 1 or periodically send EAS load information to SMF. Therefore, when SMF receives the EAS load information corresponding to application 1, it can determine the instruction / trigger to execute the EAS rediscovery process in any of the following ways, but not limited to:

[0499] Method 1: SMF determines whether the EAS load corresponding to application 1 meets the corresponding EAS load requirements based on the load information of the EAS corresponding to application 1. If not, it confirms to execute the EAS rediscovery process.

[0500] For example, if the edge application server corresponding to application 1 is EAS1, after receiving the load information of EAS1, SMF determines whether the load of EAS1 exceeds the load threshold (or load range) of the EAS corresponding to application 1 based on the load information of EAS1. If it exceeds, SMF confirms to execute the rediscovery process of the edge application server EAS. Otherwise, the rediscovery process of the edge application server EAS is not executed.

[0501] Method 2: The SMF determines the EAS processing delay based on the EAS load information corresponding to Application 1. It then calculates the total delay based on the EAS processing delay, the real-time N6 delay, and the delay between the UE and the L-PSA. The SMF determines whether the total delay meets the end-to-end delay requirements corresponding to Application 1. If not, the SMF confirms the execution of the EAS rediscovery process.

[0502] For example, if the edge application server and target L-PSA corresponding to application 1 are EAS1 and L-PSA1, after the SMF receives the load information of EAS1, it determines the processing delay of EAS1 based on the load information of EAS1; further, the SMF obtains the real-time N6 delay between EAS1 and L-PSA1 and the delay between L-PSA1 and UE. The SMF obtains the total delay between EAS1 and UE based on the real-time N6 delay between EAS1 and L-PSA1, the delay between L-PSA1 and UE, and the processing delay of EAS1. The SMF determines whether the total delay between EAS1 and UE exceeds the end-to-end delay threshold (or delay range) corresponding to application 1. If so, the SMF confirms the execution of the rediscovery process of the edge application server EAS; otherwise, the rediscovery process of the edge application server EAS is not executed.

[0503] Method three: If the load information of the EAS corresponding to application 1 is sent to the SMF when AF1 determines that the load information of the EAS does not meet the corresponding EAS load requirements, then when the SMF receives the EAS load information, it can directly confirm the execution of the EAS rediscovery process.

[0504] In one possible implementation, in S604B or S609B above, the load request information sent by the SMF is used to instruct AF1 to feedback the load information of the EAS to the SMF when the load of the EAS (e.g., 100% load of the EAS, or the load level of the EAS, or the throughput carried by the EAS, etc.) reaches the corresponding load threshold. In case 1, if the SMF receives the load information of the EAS sent by AF1, it is determined that the EAS does not meet the corresponding EAS load requirements (or does not meet the end-to-end (UE to EAS) delay requirements), and then confirms to execute the rediscovery process of the edge application server EAS.

[0505] For example, in S604B or S609B, the SMF sends a load request message to AF1 directly or indirectly through NEF1. The load request message is used to instruct AF1 to feedback the load information of the EAS to the SMF when it determines that the load of the EAS exceeds the load threshold. The load request message may carry a load threshold, which may be determined by the SMF based on the end-to-end (UE to EAS) delay requirement corresponding to application 1.

[0506] In case 1, if the edge application server corresponding to application 1 is EAS1, AF1 sends EAS1's load information directly or indirectly to SMF when confirming that EAS1's load exceeds the load threshold. When SMF receives EAS1's load information from AF1, it knows that EAS1 does not meet the load requirements (or end-to-end latency requirements) of the EAS corresponding to application 1, and can directly trigger / instruct the execution of the rediscovery process of the edge application server EAS.

[0507] Case 2: For application 1, SMF can determine that application 1 does not have suitable EAS and L-PSA based on the measured N6 delay between L-PSA and EAS, and instruct / trigger the EAS rediscovery process and / or L-PSA reselection process.

[0508] The SMF can subscribe to NEF1 in advance for N6 delay measurement events. This event subscription can be based on a threshold for each event or periodically measure N6 delay. For example, the UPF can report the measured real-time N6 delay to the SMF.

[0509] In case 2, AF1 may send the N6 delay between EAS and L-PSA to SMF based on the N6 delay threshold corresponding to application 1, or AF1 periodically sends the N6 delay between EAS and L-PSA to SMF. Therefore, when SMF receives the N6 delay between EAS and L-PSA corresponding to application 1, it can determine the instruction / trigger to execute the rediscovery process of the edge application server EAS by any of the following methods, but not limited to:

[0510] Method 1: SMF determines whether the N6 delay between the EAS and L-PSA corresponding to application 1 meets the N6 delay requirement corresponding to application 1 based on the N6 delay between the EAS and L-PSA. If not, it confirms to execute the EAS rediscovery process and / or reselect L-PSA.

[0511] For example, if the edge application server and target L-PSA corresponding to application 1 are EAS1 and L-PSA1, the SMF receives the N6 delay between EAS1 and L-PSA1 provided by the UPF, and determines whether the N6 delay between EAS1 and L-PSA1 exceeds the N6 delay threshold (or N6 delay range) corresponding to application 1. If so, the SMF confirms the execution of the rediscovery process of the edge application server EAS and / or reselects the L-PSA. Otherwise, the rediscovery process of the edge application server EAS and / or the reselection of the L-PSA is not executed.

[0512] For example, if the EAS corresponding to application 1 is EAS1, and the N6 delay corresponding to EAS1 does not meet the N6 delay requirement corresponding to application 1, the SMF determines that application 1 does not have a suitable EAS, so the SMF can confirm the reselection of L-PSA.

[0513] If there are candidate L-PSAs, for example, different L-PSAs for the same DNAI, the SMF may notify each candidate L-PSA to measure the real-time N6 delay between the corresponding EAS.

[0514] If the SMF determines that the end-to-end delay of the candidate L-PSA meets the end-to-end delay requirement, the SMF can trigger the reselection of the L-PSA. If the SMF determines that the end-to-end delay of the candidate L-PSA does not meet the end-to-end delay requirement, the SMF can instruct / trigger the execution of the EAS rediscovery process.

[0515] Method 2: The SMF can obtain the total delay based on the N6 delay between the EAS and L-PSA corresponding to application 1, the delay between the L-PSA and the UE, and the processing delay of the EAS. The SMF determines whether the total delay meets the end-to-end requirements corresponding to application 1. If not, the SMF confirms the execution of the EAS rediscovery process.

[0516] For example, if the edge application server and target L-PSA corresponding to application 1 are EAS1 and L-PSA1, after the SMF receives the N6 delay between EAS1 and L-PSA1; further, the SMF obtains the delay between L-PSA1 and UE and the processing delay of EAS1. The SMF obtains the total delay between EAS1 and UE based on the real-time N6 delay between EAS1 and L-PSA1, the delay between L-PSA1 and UE, and the processing delay of EAS1. The SMF determines whether the total delay between EAS1 and UE exceeds the end-to-end delay threshold (or delay range) corresponding to application 1. If so, the SMF confirms the execution of the rediscovery process of the edge application server EAS and / or reselects the L-PSA; otherwise, the rediscovery process of the edge application server EAS and / or reselects the L-PSA is not executed.

[0517] Method three: If the N6 delay between the EAS and L-PSA corresponding to application 1 is sent by AF1 to the SMF when the N6 delay does not meet the corresponding N6 delay requirement, then when the SMF receives the N6 delay between the EAS and L-PSA, it can directly confirm the execution of the EAS rediscovery process and / or reselect L-PSA.

[0518] For example, in S610B, SMF sends request information 1 to AF1 directly or indirectly through NEF1, and request information 1 is used to instruct AF1 to feedback the N6 delay to SMF when it determines that the N6 delay between EAS and L-PSA exceeds the N6 delay threshold, wherein the request information 1 can carry the N6 delay threshold.

[0519] In case 2, if the edge application server and target L-PSA corresponding to application 1 are EAS1 and L-PSA1, AF1 sends the N6 load between EAS1 and L-PSA1 directly or indirectly to the SMF when confirming that the N6 delay between EAS1 and L-PSA1 exceeds the N6 threshold. When the SMF receives the N6 load between EAS1 and L-PSA1 sent by AF1, it knows that the N6 delay does not meet the N6 delay requirement corresponding to application 1, and can directly trigger / instruct the execution of the edge application server EAS rediscovery process and / or reselect L-PSA.

[0520] Case 3: AF1 triggers the EAS rediscovery process.

[0521] In one possible implementation, AF1 actively triggers the EAS rediscovery process based on the load balancing or maintenance of EAS, that is, AF1 directly or indirectly sends a trigger message (or indication message) to SMF through NEF1 to instruct SMF to execute the EAS rediscovery process and / or reselect L-PSA.

[0522] In another possible implementation, the AF determines that the load of the EAS is too high and / or the N6 delay is too high, and triggers the execution of the EAS rediscovery process and / or reselection of the L-PSA.

[0523] In this embodiment one, SMF can effectively obtain the end-to-end delay information, N6 delay information and EAS load information corresponding to each EAS in at least one EAS corresponding to the target application 1 from NEF1, and then SMF can select a suitable EAS based on one or more of the end-to-end delay information, N6 delay information and EAS load information corresponding to the at least one EAS to effectively ensure the communication quality of subsequent terminal devices.

[0524] Implementation 2: Different from the method described in Implementation 1 above, SMF can communicate / interact with NEF1 and AF1 through other functional network elements / core network elements (such as NWDAF). The following uses NWDAF as an example to describe how SMF communicates / interacts with NEF1 and AF1 through NWDAF. Referring to Figure 8A, this implementation may include the following steps:

[0525] S801A: AF1 sends deployment information 1 to NEF1. Correspondingly, NEF1 receives deployment information 1 from AF1.

[0526] S802A: NEF1 performs processing based on deployment information 1 of AF1.

[0527] S803A: NEF1 sends AF1 information to UDR. Correspondingly, UDR receives AF1 information.

[0528] S804A: SMF sends subscription information 1 of edge deployment information EDI to NEF1. Correspondingly, NEF1 receives subscription information 1 of EDI.

[0529] The above-mentioned S801A to S804A can refer to the implementation methods of the above-mentioned S601A to S604A one by one, and will not be repeated here.

[0530] S805A: The SMF sends trigger information to the NWDAF, and correspondingly, the NWDAF receives the trigger information.

[0531] The trigger information is used to instruct / trigger the NWDAF to send a subscription request message 2 to the NEF1.

[0532] S805A is an optional step and may not be performed.

[0533] S806A: NWDAF sends subscription information 2 of edge deployment information EDI to NEF1. Correspondingly, NEF1 receives subscription information 2 of EDI.

[0534] The subscription information 2 of the EDI is used to request relevant information of at least one application function network element, such as the address information and / or identification information of at least one AF, or the address information and / or identification information of at least one NEF1.

[0535] S807A: NEF1 sends a first request message to the UDR, where the first request message is used to request edge deployment information. Correspondingly, the UDR receives the first request message.

[0536] S808A: UDR sends a first response message to NEF1. Correspondingly, NEF1 receives the first response message.

[0537] The above-mentioned S807A to S808A are optional steps, and their implementation can refer to the above-mentioned S605A to S606A one by one, and will not be repeated here.

[0538] S809A: NEF1 sends edge deployment information 1 to SMF. Correspondingly, SMF receives edge deployment information 1.

[0539] The difference from the above S607A is that in S809A, the edge deployment information 1 sent by NEF1 to SMF does not include the address information and / or identification information of AF1, or the address information 1 of NEF1 and / or the identification information 1 of NEF1.

[0540] The edge deployment information 1 also includes other information in the edge deployment information in S607A.

[0541] S810A: NEF1 sends edge deployment information 2 to NWDAF. In response, NWDAF receives edge deployment information 2.

[0542] If AF1 is a trusted application function, the edge deployment information 2 includes the address information of AF1 and / or the identification information of AF1.

[0543] If AF1 is an untrusted application function, the edge deployment information 2 includes the address information 1 of NEF1 and / or the identification information 1 of NEF1.

[0544] S809A and S810A may be executed synchronously or asynchronously, and the order of execution is not limited.

[0545] In another embodiment of the present application, if NEF1 receives the subscription information 1 of the edge deployment information EDI of SMF and the subscription information 2 of the EDI of NWDAF: NEF1 receives the deployment information of at least one AF, NEF1 processes it based on the deployment information of the at least one AF, and then carries the processed address-related information in the edge deployment information 1, sends it to NWDAF, and carries other information in the information of each AF (such as information on applications provided by AF, etc.) in the edge deployment information 2, and sends it to SMF.

[0546] For example, taking AF1 as an example, SMF requests NEF1 to subscribe to EDI. Referring to the process shown in Figure 8C, the following steps are included:

[0547] S801C: SMF sends EDI subscription information 1 to NEF1.

[0548] S802C: SMF sends a trigger message to NWDAF to instruct / trigger NWDAF to send EDI subscription information 2 to SMF.

[0549] This S802C is an optional step and may not be performed.

[0550] S803C: NWDAF sends EDI subscription information 2 to NEF1.

[0551] S804C: NEF1 receives the deployment information 1 of AF1 (refer to the above S601).

[0552] S805C: NEF1 performs processing based on the deployment information 1 of AF1 (refer to the above S602A).

[0553] S806C: NEF1 sends edge deployment information 1 to NWDAF.

[0554] The edge deployment information 1 includes the address information and / or identification information of AF1, or the address information 1 and / or identification information 1 of NEF1.

[0555] S807C: NEF1 sends edge deployment information 2 to SMF.

[0556] Edge deployment information 2 includes other information in AF1 (such as information about applications (including applications that meet the first condition)).

[0557] S808C: NEF1 sends AF1 information to UDR.

[0558] In the above, S808C is an optional step, and the execution order of S806C, S807C and S808C is not limited.

[0559] Furthermore, referring to FIG8B , the second embodiment may further include the following steps:

[0560] S801B: SMF instructs EASDF to execute the EAS discovery process.

[0561] S802B: EASDF sends a first message to SMF, the first message including at least one EAS IP and FQDN1 corresponding to application 1 (an example of the target application in the solution described in FIG5 ). Accordingly, SMF receives the first message.

[0562] S803B: The SMF determines whether application 1 is an application that meets the first condition.

[0563] S801B-S803B can refer to the implementation method of the above-mentioned S601B-S603B one by one, and will not be repeated here.

[0564] S804B: SMF sends load request information to NWDAF. Correspondingly, NEF1 receives the load request information.

[0565] The load request information in S804B can refer to the introduction of the load request information in 604B above, which will not be repeated here.

[0566] If the NWDAF receives the address information 1 and / or identification information 1 of NEF1 in S810A, then the following steps S805B-S810B are executed. If the NWDAF receives the address information 1 and / or identification information 1 of AF1, then the following steps S811B-S814B are executed.

[0567] S805B: NWDAF sends a load request message to NEF1. Correspondingly, NEF1 receives the load request message.

[0568] The load request information includes at least one EAS IP and / or first indication information of application 1. Specifically, the load request information can refer to the introduction in S604B above, which will not be repeated here.

[0569] S806B: NEF1 determines the address information of AF1.

[0570] S806B may correspond to the implementation of S605B described above, which will not be described in detail here.

[0571] S807B: NEF1 sends a load request message to AF1, and AF receives the load request message accordingly.

[0572] S807B may correspond to the implementation of S606B described above, which will not be described in detail here.

[0573] S808B: AF1 sends load response information to NEF1. Correspondingly, NEF1 receives the load response information.

[0574] S808B may correspond to the implementation of S607B described above, which will not be described in detail here.

[0575] S809B: NEF1 sends the load response information to NWDAF. Correspondingly, SMF receives the load response information.

[0576] S810B: NWDAF sends the load response information to SMF.

[0577] The load response information may refer to the introduction of the load response information in S608B above, which will not be repeated here.

[0578] S811B: The SMF sends a load request message to the NWDAF, and the NWDAF receives the load request message accordingly.

[0579] S812B: NWDAF sends a load request message to AF1. AF1 receives the load request message accordingly.

[0580] S813B: AF1 sends load response information to NWDAF, and NWDAF receives the load response information accordingly.

[0581] S814B: NWDAF sends load response information to SMF, and SMF receives the load response information accordingly.

[0582] The introduction of the information in S811B to S814B may refer to the introduction in S609B and S610B above, and will not be repeated here.

[0583] S815B: The SMF determines the processing delay of the at least one EAS according to the load information of the at least one EAS.

[0584] S816B: The SMF instructs / notifies each L-PSA and RAN to cooperate to complete the service quality measurement and obtain the delay between each L-PSA and the UE.

[0585] S817B: SMF notifies the measurement of the real-time N6 delay between each L-PSA and EAS(s).

[0586] S818B: The SMF selects an appropriate EAS and L-PSA based on the measured delays and / or load information of each EAS.

[0587] S819B: SMF sends a notification message to EASDF to update the DNS processing rules.

[0588] S820B: EASDF sends a notification message (i.e. DNS response) to the UE. Correspondingly, the UE receives the notification message.

[0589] The above S815B-S820B can refer to the implementation method of the above S611B-S616B one by one, and will not be repeated here.

[0590] In a possible implementation, the embodiment may further include the following steps:

[0591] S821B: SMF determines that application 1 does not have a suitable EAS and / or L-PSA, and instructs the EAS rediscovery process and / or reselection of L-PSA.

[0592] S821B may refer to the implementation of the above-mentioned S617B, which will not be described in detail here. However, the difference from S617B is that the interaction between SMF and NEF1 and AF1 is implemented through NWDAF.

[0593] In the second embodiment, SMF can communicate with NEF1 through other core network network elements (such as NWDAF), and then effectively obtain the end-to-end delay information, N6 delay information and EAS load information corresponding to each EAS in at least one EAS corresponding to the target application 1 from the corresponding application function network element through NEF1; then SMF can select a suitable EAS based on one or more of the end-to-end delay information, N6 delay information and EAS load information corresponding to the at least one EAS, so as to effectively ensure the communication quality of subsequent terminal devices.

[0594] Regarding the above-mentioned Embodiment 1 and Embodiment 2, it should be noted that:

[0595] (1) The above-mentioned Embodiment 1 and Embodiment 2 can be implemented separately or in combination, and there is no specific limitation on this.

[0596] (2) The above description focuses on the differences between the first embodiment and the second embodiment. Except for the differences, the first embodiment and the second embodiment can refer to each other.

[0597] (3) The step numbers in the flowcharts described in Implementation Methods 1 and 2 are merely examples of the execution process and do not limit the order in which the steps are executed. There is no temporal dependency between the steps in the various implementations of this application, and there is no strict execution order between them. Furthermore, not all of the steps shown in the flowcharts are mandatory steps, and steps may be added or deleted based on actual needs.

[0598] In the embodiments provided above, the methods provided in the embodiments of the present application are described from the perspective of interaction between various devices. In order to implement the various functions of the methods provided in the embodiments or implementations of the present application, the session management function network element or the network open function network element may include a hardware structure and / or a software module, and implement the aforementioned functions in the form of a hardware structure, a software module, or a hardware structure plus a software module. Whether a particular one of the aforementioned functions is implemented in the form of a hardware structure, a software module, or a hardware structure plus a software module depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution.

[0599] 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 or implementations 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.

[0600] Similar to the above concept, as shown in FIG9 , an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication device 900 for implementing the functions of a session management function network element or a network openness function network element in the above method. For example, the communication device 900 may be a software module or a chip system. In the embodiment of the present application, the chip system may be composed of a chip or may include a chip and other discrete components. The communication device 900 may include: a communication unit 901 and a processing unit 902.

[0601] In the embodiments of the present application, the communication unit 901 may also be referred to as a transceiver unit, and may include a sending unit and / or a receiving unit, each configured to execute the steps of sending and receiving by the session management function network element or the network openness function network element in the above method embodiments. The processing unit 902 may be configured to read instructions and / or data from the storage module to enable the communication device 900 to implement the above method embodiments.

[0602] Optionally, the communication device 900 may further include a storage unit 903 , which is equivalent to a storage module and may be used to store instructions and / or data.

[0603] The communication device provided in the embodiments of the present application is described in detail below in conjunction with Figures 9 and 10. It should be understood that the description of the device embodiment corresponds to the description of the method embodiment. Therefore, the content not described in detail can be implemented with reference to the method shown in Figure 5 above, and for the sake of brevity, it will not be repeated here.

[0604] The communication unit 901 may also be referred to as a transceiver, transceiver, or transceiver device. The processing unit may also be referred to as a processor, processing board, processing module, or processing device. Alternatively, the device in the communication unit 901 that implements the receiving function may be considered a receiving unit, and the device in the communication unit 901 that implements the transmitting function may be considered a transmitting unit. That is, the communication unit 901 includes both a receiving unit and a transmitting unit. A communication unit may also be referred to as a transceiver, transceiver, or transceiver circuit. A receiving unit may also be referred to as a receiver, receiver, or receiving circuit. A transmitting unit may also be referred to as a transmitter, transmitter, or transmitting circuit.

[0605] When the communication device 900 executes the session management function network element in the process shown in Figure 5 of the above embodiment: the communication unit 901 is configured to send first subscription information to the network open function network element, the first subscription information being used to request subscription to edge deployment information; the communication unit 901 is further configured to receive edge deployment information from the network open function network element, the edge deployment information including information indicating at least one application function network element associated with the edge deployment information. The processing unit 902 can be configured to process information and / or data.

[0606] When the communication device 900 executes the network open function network element in the process shown in Figure 5 of the above embodiment: the communication unit 901 is used to receive first subscription information from the session management function network element, where the first subscription information is used to request subscription to edge deployment information; the communication unit 901 is also used to send the edge deployment information to the session management function network element, where the edge deployment information includes information indicating at least one application function network element associated with the edge deployment information.

[0607] The above is just an example. The processing unit 902 and the communication unit 901 can also perform other functions. For more detailed description, please refer to the relevant description in the method embodiment shown in Figure 5, which is not repeated here.

[0608] FIG10 shows a communication device 1000 provided in an embodiment of the present application. The communication device shown in FIG10 may be a hardware circuit implementation of the communication device shown in FIG9 . The communication device 1000 may be used in the flowcharts shown above to perform the functions of the session management function network element or the network openness function network element in the above-described method embodiments. For ease of illustration, FIG10 only shows the main components of the communication device.

[0609] As shown in Figure 10, communication device 1000 includes a communication interface 1001 and a processor 1002. Communication interface 1001 and processor 1002 are coupled to each other. It is understood that communication interface 1001 can be a transceiver or an input / output interface, or an interface circuit such as a transceiver circuit. Optionally, communication device 1000 can also include a memory 1003 for storing instructions executed by processor 1002, input data required by processor 1002 to execute instructions, or data generated by processor 1002 after executing instructions.

[0610] When the communication device 1000 is used to implement the methods shown in Figures 5-6A and 6B and Figures 8A and 8B, the communication interface 1001 is used to implement the functions of the above-mentioned communication unit 901, and the processor 1002 is used to implement the functions of the above-mentioned processing unit 902.

[0611] The specific connection medium between the communication interface 1001, the processor 1002, and the memory 1003 is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. In Figure 10, the embodiment of the present application shows that the memory 1003, the processor 1002, and the communication interface 1001 are connected via a communication bus 1004. The communication bus 1004 is represented by a bold line in Figure 10. The connection method between other components is only for schematic illustration and is not intended to be limiting. The communication bus 1004 can be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For ease of representation, only one bold line is used in Figure 10, but this does not mean that there is only one bus or one type of bus.

[0612] When the communication device is a chip, FIG11 shows a simplified schematic diagram of the chip structure, wherein the chip 1100 includes an interface circuit 1101 and one or more processors 1102. Optionally, the chip 1100 may further include a bus.

[0613] The processor 1102 may be an integrated circuit chip with signal processing capabilities. During implementation, each step of the above-mentioned service node information determination method can be completed by hardware integrated logic circuits or software instructions in the processor 1102. The above-mentioned processor 1102 can be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, or discrete hardware components. It can implement or execute the various methods and steps disclosed in the embodiments of this application. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or the processor can also be any conventional processor, etc.

[0614] The interface circuit 1101 can be used to send or receive data, instructions or information. The processor 1102 can use the data, instructions or other information received by the interface circuit 1101 to process it, and can send the processing completion information through the interface circuit 1101.

[0615] Optionally, the chip further includes a memory 1103, which may include a read-only memory and a random access memory, and provides operating instructions and data to the processor. A portion of the memory 1103 may also include a non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM).

[0616] Optionally, the memory stores an executable software module or a data structure, and the processor can perform corresponding operations by calling an operation instruction stored in the memory (the operation instruction may be stored in an operating system).

[0617] Optionally, the chip can be used in a session management function network element or a network open function network element involved in the embodiments of the present application. Optionally, the interface circuit 1101 can be used to output the execution result of the processor 1102. Regarding the communication method provided in one or more embodiments of the present application, reference can be made to the aforementioned embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0618] It should be noted that the corresponding functions of the interface circuit 1101 and the processor 1102 can be implemented through hardware design, software design, or a combination of hardware and software, and there is no limitation here.

[0619] An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium storing computer instructions for implementing the method executed by the session management function network element or the network open function network element in the above method embodiment.

[0620] For example, when the computer program is executed by a computer, the computer can implement the method performed by the session management function network element or the network open function network element in the above method embodiment.

[0621] An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program product comprising instructions, which, when executed by a computer, enables the computer to implement the method performed by the session management function network element or the network open function network element in the above method embodiment.

[0622] An embodiment of the present application also provides a chip, including a processor, for calling the computer program or computer instructions stored in the memory so that the processor executes the communication method of the implementation method shown in Figures 5-6A and 6B and Figures 8A and 8B above.

[0623] In one possible implementation, the input of the chip corresponds to the receiving operation in the implementation shown in Figures 5-6A and 6B and Figures 8A and 8B above, and the output of the chip corresponds to the sending operation in the implementation shown in Figures 5-6A and 6B and Figures 8A and 8B above.

[0624] Optionally, the processor is coupled to the memory via an interface.

[0625] Optionally, the chip further includes a memory in which computer programs or computer instructions are stored.

[0626] The processor mentioned in any of the above may be a general-purpose central processing unit, a microprocessor, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or one or more integrated circuits for controlling the execution of a program of a communication method in the implementation manner shown in Figures 5-6A and 6B and Figures 8A and 8B. The memory mentioned in any of the above may be a read-only memory (ROM) or other type of static storage device that can store static information and instructions, a random access memory (RAM), etc.

[0627] It should be noted that, for the sake of convenience and brevity of description, the explanation of the relevant contents and beneficial effects of any of the communication devices provided above may refer to the embodiments of the corresponding communication methods provided above, and will not be repeated here.

[0628] In the present application, the communication devices may further include a hardware layer, an operating system layer running on top of the hardware layer, and an application layer running on the operating system layer. The hardware layer may include hardware such as a central processing unit (CPU), a memory management unit (MMU), and memory (also known as main memory). The operating system of the operating system layer may be any one or more computer operating systems that implement business processing through processes, such as the Linux operating system, Unix operating system, Android operating system, iOS operating system, or Windows operating system. The application layer may include applications such as browsers, address books, word processing software, and instant messaging software.

[0629] 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.

[0630] Through the description of the above embodiments, it will be clear to those skilled in the art that the embodiments of the present application can be implemented in hardware, firmware, or a combination thereof. When software is used for implementation, the above functions can be stored in a computer-readable medium or transmitted as one or more instructions or codes on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media include computer storage media and communication media, wherein the communication media include any medium that facilitates the transmission of a computer program from one place to another. The storage medium can be any available medium that a computer can access. For example, but not limited to: a computer-readable medium may include RAM, ROM, electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disc storage, a magnetic disk storage medium or other magnetic storage device, or 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. In addition, any connection can be appropriately a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of the medium. As used in the embodiments of the present application, disk and disc include compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk, and Blu-ray disc, where disks typically reproduce data magnetically and discs use lasers to reproduce data optically. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of protection of computer-readable media.

[0631] In short, the above description is only an embodiment of the present application and is not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present application. Any modifications, equivalent replacements, improvements, etc. made based on the disclosure of the present application should be included in the scope of protection of the present application.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: The method is applied to a session management function network element or a chip of the session management function network element, including: Sending first subscription information to the network open function network element, where the first subscription information is used to request subscription to edge deployment information; Edge deployment information is received from the network open function network element, where the edge deployment information includes information indicating at least one application function network element associated with the edge deployment information.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The information indicating at least one application function network element associated with the edge deployment information includes one or more of the following: Identification information of the at least one application function network element, address information of the at least one application function network element, address information of the at least one network open function network element, and identification information of the at least one network open function network element.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that The edge deployment information further includes information of at least one application and / or first indication information; The information of each application in the at least one application includes identification information of the application and / or fully qualified domain name information corresponding to the application; The at least one application includes an application that meets a first condition, where the first condition includes at least one of the following: End-to-end latency requirements, load requirements for the edge application server (EAS), and N6 latency requirements between the edge application server (EAS) and the local protocol data unit session anchor (L-PSA). The first indication information is used to indicate the application that meets the first condition.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that The information of the application that meets the first condition further includes at least one of the following: The end-to-end delay requirement, the N6 delay requirement, and the load requirement of the edge application server EAS.

5. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that The method further comprises: Receive a first message, where the first message includes address information of at least one edge application server (EAS) corresponding to a target application and information about the target application, where the information about the target application includes identification information of the target application and / or fully qualified domain name information corresponding to the target application; Determining, based on the information of the target application and the information of the application that meets the first condition, that the target application belongs to the application that meets the first condition; Obtaining delay information corresponding to the at least one EAS and / or load information corresponding to the at least one EAS; Based on the delay information corresponding to the at least one EAS and / or the load information corresponding to the at least one EAS, the address information of the target EAS is determined from the address information of the at least one EAS, and the target L-PSA accessing the target EAS is determined.

6. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that The method further comprises: Receive a first message, where the first message includes address information of at least one edge application server (EAS) corresponding to a target application and information about the target application, where the information about the target application includes identification information of the target application and / or fully qualified domain name information corresponding to the target application; Determining, based on the information of the target application and the information of the application that meets the first condition, that the target application belongs to the application that meets the first condition; Obtaining delay information corresponding to the at least one EAS and / or load information corresponding to the at least one EAS; When the second condition is met, second indication information is sent to the edge application server discovery function EASDF network element, where the second indication information instructs execution of the edge application server rediscovery process and / or the local protocol data unit session anchor L-PSA selection process; wherein the second condition includes any one or more of the following: The end-to-end delay information corresponding to at least one EAS does not meet the end-to-end delay requirement corresponding to the target application, the N6 delay corresponding to at least one EAS does not meet the N6 delay requirement corresponding to the target application, and the trigger information of the rediscovery process is received from the edge application server of the application function network element corresponding to the target application.

7. The method according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that The delay information includes one or more of the following: Processing delay, a first latency between the terminal device and at least one local protocol data unit session anchor L-PSA, A second delay between the EAS and at least one local protocol data unit session anchor L-PSA, where the second delay is N6 delay.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that The delay information includes the processing delay; The obtaining of delay information corresponding to at least one EAS includes: Determine the processing delay corresponding to the at least one EAS based on the load information corresponding to the at least one EAS and the preset mapping information; wherein the preset mapping information includes the correspondence between the load information corresponding to the at least one EAS and the processing delay corresponding to the at least one EAS.

9. The method according to any one of claims 5 to 8, characterized in that The acquiring load information corresponding to the at least one EAS includes: When the information indicating at least one application function network element associated with the edge deployment information includes address information of the first application function network element, first information is sent to the first application function network element, and load information of the at least one EAS or load information of the EAS among the at least one EAS that meets a third condition is received from the first application function network element; or When the information indicating at least one application function network element associated with the edge deployment information includes the first address information of the network open function network element, sending first information to the network open function network element; receiving load information of the at least one EAS or load information of the EAS among the at least one EAS that meets the third condition from the network open function network element; The first information is used to request the load information of the at least one EAS, or the first information is used to indicate the third condition; the first information includes the address information of the at least one EAS and / or the third condition; the third condition includes feedback of corresponding load information when the load of the at least one EAS meets the load threshold.

10. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that The delay information includes a first delay between the terminal device and at least one local protocol data unit session anchor L-PSA; Obtaining delay information corresponding to any one of the at least one EAS includes: Obtain at least one third delay, and a fourth delay between the access network device and the terminal device; wherein the at least one third delay is the delay between the at least one L-PSA and the access network device; The at least one first time delay is determined according to the at least one third time delay and the fourth time delay.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that The obtaining of the at least one third time delay includes: determining M L-PSAs accessible to the EAS, where M is a positive integer; sending a first notification message to each L-PSA, where the first notification message is used to instruct the L-PSA to measure the third time delay between the L-PSA and the access network device; and receiving M third time delays, where the M third time delays correspond one-to-one to the M L-PSAs. The obtaining of the fourth time delay between the access network device and the terminal device includes: sending a second notification message to the access network device, wherein the second notification message is used to instruct the access network device to measure the fourth time delay between the access network device and the terminal device; and receiving the fourth time delay sent from the access network device.

12. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that The delay information includes a second delay between the EAS and at least one local protocol data unit session anchor L-PSA; the method further includes: Indicates the second time delay between each L-PSA capable of accessing the EAS and measuring the EAS.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that The indicating that each L-PSA capable of accessing the EAS measures the second time delay between the L-PSA and the EAS, including: Subscribe to the second delay information to each L-PSA, and instruct the L-PSA to measure the delay between the L-PSA and the EAS when the corresponding N6 delay exceeds the N6 delay requirement corresponding to the target application, or periodically measure the delay between the L-PSA and the EAS.

14. The method according to claim 7, wherein: The delay information includes a second delay between the EAS and at least one local protocol data unit session anchor L-PSA; the method further includes: When the information indicating at least one application function network element associated with the edge deployment information includes the address information of the first application function network element, sending second information to the first application function network element, or When the information indicating at least one application function network element associated with the edge deployment information includes the first address information of the network open function network element, sending second information to the network open function; The second information is used to request a second delay between the EAS and at least one local protocol data unit session anchor L-PSA; the second information includes one or more of the following: The first address information of the network open function network element, the address information of the EAS, the data network access identifier DNAI corresponding to the EAS, and the third information; The third information is used to request the second delay between at least one L-PSA corresponding to the EAS and the EAS that can be accessed within the area indicated by the DNAI.

15. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that The end-to-end delay information corresponding to the at least one EAS does not meet the end-to-end delay requirement corresponding to the target application, including: The end-to-end delay corresponding to the at least one EAS exceeds the end-to-end delay threshold corresponding to the target application; or When receiving the load information of the at least one EAS sent from the first application function network element, it is determined that the delay information corresponding to the at least one EAS does not meet the end-to-end delay requirement corresponding to the target application; wherein the load information of each EAS in the at least one EAS is sent when the first application function determines that the load of the EAS exceeds the load threshold.

16. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that The N6 delay corresponding to the at least one EAS does not meet the N6 delay requirement corresponding to the target application, including: The second delay corresponding to the at least one EAS exceeds the N6 delay threshold corresponding to the target application.

17. A communication method, characterized in that: The method is applied to a network open function network element or a chip of the network open function network element, and includes: receiving first subscription information from a session management function network element, where the first subscription information is used to request subscription to edge deployment information; The edge deployment information is sent to the session management function network element, where the edge deployment information includes information indicating at least one application function network element associated with the edge deployment information.

18. The method according to claim 17, characterized in that The information indicating at least one application function network element associated with the edge deployment information includes one or more of the following: Identification information of the at least one application function network element, address information of the at least one application function network element, address information of the at least one network open function network element, and identification information of the at least one network open function network element.

19. The method according to claim 17 or 18, characterized in that The method further comprises: First deployment information from at least one application function network element is received, where the first deployment information of each application function network element includes address information of the application function network element and / or identification information of the application function network element.

20. The method according to claim 19, characterized in that The method further comprises: The first deployment information of the at least one application function network element is sent to a unified storage data network element.

21. The method according to claim 19, wherein The method further comprises: Based on the address information of the application function network element, generate the corresponding address information of the network open function network element and / or the identification information of the network open function network element, and generate a corresponding mapping relationship, where the mapping relationship is used to represent the correspondence between the address information of the network open function network element and the address information of the application function network element; Sending second deployment information of the at least one application function network element to the unified storage data network element; the second deployment information includes at least one of the following: The address information of the network open function network element, the identification information of the network open function network element, and the mapping relationship.

22. The method according to claim 20 or 21, characterized in that The method further comprises: Sending first request information to a unified storage data network element, where the first request information is used to request edge deployment information; Receive first response information from the unified storage data network element, where the first response information includes the edge deployment information.

23. The method according to claim 20 or 21, characterized in that The first deployment information and / or the second deployment information further includes information and / or instruction information of at least one application; The edge deployment information further includes information of at least one application and / or first indication information; The application information includes identification information of the application and / or fully qualified domain name information corresponding to the application; The at least one application includes an application that meets a first condition, where the first condition includes at least one of the following: End-to-end latency requirements, load requirements for the edge application server (EAS), and N6 latency requirements between the edge application server (EAS) and the local protocol data unit session anchor (L-PSA). The indication information is used to indicate the application that meets the first condition; The first indication information is used to indicate the application that meets the first condition; The information of the application that meets the first condition further includes at least one of the following: The end-to-end delay requirement, the N6 delay requirement, and the load requirement of the edge application server EAS.

24. The method according to any one of claims 17 to 23, characterized in that The method further comprises: receiving first information from a session management function network element, the first information being used to request load information of the at least one EAS, or the first information being used to indicate a second condition; the first information including address information of the at least one EAS and / or the second condition; the second condition including feeding back corresponding load information when the load of the at least one EAS meets a load threshold; Determining address information of a first application function network element corresponding to the target application; Sending the first information to the first application function network element; Receiving, from the first application function network element, load information of the at least one EAS or load information of an EAS among the at least one EAS that meets the second condition; The load information of the at least one EAS or the load information of the EAS among the at least one EAS that meets the second condition is sent to the session management function network element.

25. The method according to any one of claims 17 to 23, characterized in that The method further comprises: Receive second information from a session management function network element; the second information is used to request a second delay between any one of the at least one EAS corresponding to the target application and at least one local protocol data unit session anchor L-PSA; the second information includes one or more of the following: The first address information of the network open function network element, the address information of the EAS, the data network access identifier DNAI corresponding to the EAS, and third information; wherein the third information is used to request that the second delay between at least one L-PSA corresponding to the EAS be accessible within the area indicated by the DNAI and the EAS; Determining address information of a first application function network element corresponding to the target application; Sending the second information to the first application function network element; receiving, from the first application function network element, a second time delay between the EAS and at least one local protocol data unit session anchor L-PSA; A second time delay between the EAS and at least one local protocol data unit session anchor L-PSA is sent to the session management function network element.

26. The method according to claim 24 or 25, characterized in that The determining the address information of the first application function network element corresponding to the target application includes: Determine the address information of the first application function network element according to the mapping relationship between the first address information of the network open function network element and the first application function network element; the mapping relationship corresponding to the first application function network element is used to represent the correspondence between the first address information of the network open function network element and the address information of the first application function network element; or Send a second request message to the unified storage data network element, where the second request message is used to request the address information of the first application function network element, and the second request message includes the first address information of the network open function network element; receive the address information of the first application function network element from the unified storage data network element.

27. A communication method, characterized in that: The method is applied to a unified data storage network element or a chip of the unified data storage network element, including: receiving first request information from a network open function network element, where the first request information is used to request edge deployment information; First response information is sent to the network open function network element, where the first response information includes edge deployment information, and the edge deployment information includes information indicating at least one application function network element associated with the edge deployment information.

28. The method according to claim 27, characterized in that The information used to indicate at least one application function network element associated with the edge deployment information includes one or more of the following: The identification information of the at least one application function network element, the address information of the at least one application function network element, the address information of at least one network open function network element, or the identification information of at least one network open function network element; wherein the at least one network open function network element corresponds to the at least one application function network element.

29. The method according to claim 27 or 28, characterized in that The method further comprises: Receiving first deployment information of at least one trusted application function network element, where the first deployment information of a first application function network element in the at least one application function network element includes address information of the first application function network element and / or identification information of the first application function network element; and / or Receive second deployment information of at least one untrusted application function network element, where the second deployment information of a second application function network element in the at least one application function network element includes at least one of the following: Address information of network open function network elements, identification information of network open function network elements, or mapping relationships; The mapping relationship is used to represent the correspondence between the address information of the second application function network element and the address information of the network open function network element.

30. The method according to claim 29, wherein The first deployment information and / or the second deployment information further includes information and / or instruction information of at least one application; The information of the first application in the information of the at least one application includes identification information of the first application and / or fully qualified domain name information corresponding to the first application; The at least one application includes an application that meets a first condition, where the first condition includes at least one of the following: End-to-end latency requirements, edge application server load requirements, or N6 latency requirements between the edge application server and the local protocol data unit session anchor point; The indication information is used to indicate an application that meets the first condition.

31. The method according to any one of claims 27 to 30, characterized in that The edge deployment information includes information of at least one application and / or first indication information; The information of the second application in the at least one application includes identification information of the second application and / or fully qualified domain name information corresponding to the second application; the at least one application includes an application that meets a first condition, and the first condition includes at least one of the following: End-to-end latency requirements, edge application server load requirements, and N6 latency requirements between the edge application server and the local protocol data unit session anchor point; The first indication information is used to indicate an application that meets the first condition.

32. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: The session management function network element sends first subscription information to the network open function network element, where the first subscription information is used to request subscription to edge deployment information; The network openness function network element receives the first subscription information from the session management function network element, and sends edge deployment information to the session management function network element, where the edge deployment information includes information indicating at least one application function network element associated with the edge deployment information; The session management function network element receives the edge deployment information from the network open function network element.

33. The method according to claim 32, characterized in that The method further comprises: The network open function network element sends a first request message to the unified storage data network element; the first request message is used to request the edge deployment information; The unified data storage network element receives the first request information from the network open function network element, and sends a first response information to the network open function network element, where the first response information includes the edge deployment information; The network open function network element receives the first response information from the unified storage data network element.

34. A communication system, characterized in that: The method comprises a session management function network element and a network open function network element, wherein the session management function network element is used to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 16, and the network open function network element is used to execute the method according to any one of claims 17 to 26.

35. The system according to claim 34, wherein: It also includes a unified data storage network element, which is used to execute the method as described in any one of claims 27 to 31.

36. A communication device, characterized in that The method comprises a unit or module for executing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 16, or a unit or module for executing the method according to any one of claims 17 to 26, or a unit or module for executing the method according to any one of claims 27 to 31.

37. A communication device, characterized in that: The method comprises a processor and a memory, wherein the memory is used to store program instructions, and when the processor executes the program instructions, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 16 is executed, or when the processor executes the program instructions, the method according to any one of claims 17 to 26 is executed, or the method according to any one of claims 27 to 31 is executed.

38. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that The computer storage medium stores computer-readable instructions, which, when executed on a communication device, cause the method according to any one of claims 1 to 16 to be executed, or the method according to any one of claims 17 to 26 to be executed, or the method according to any one of claims 27 to 31 to be executed.

39. A computer program product, characterized in that The computer program product comprises a computer program, which, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 16, or the method according to any one of claims 17 to 26, or the method according to any one of claims 27 to 31.

40. A chip, characterized in that: The chip is coupled to a memory and is used to read and execute program instructions stored in the memory to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 16, or the method according to any one of claims 17 to 26, or the method according to any one of claims 27 to 31.

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