Device communication method and apparatus, and communication device

Abstract

The present application relates to the technical field of communications, and discloses a device communication method and apparatus, and a communication device. The device communication method in embodiments of the present application comprises: a first communication device acquires first information; and on the basis of the first information, the first communication device executes at least one of the following: determining a first DNAI on the basis of energy related information; determining a first DNS server on the basis of the energy related information; determining a first application server on the basis of the energy related information; determining a first UPF on the basis of the energy related information; determining the priority of at least one application server on the basis of the energy related information; sending a first message to a second communication device on the basis of the energy related information, wherein the first message is used for instructing the second communication device to update the application server; and sending a second message to a third communication device on the basis of the energy related information, the second message being used for at least one of the following: instructing the third communication device to send a DNS query request, and instructing the third communication device to generate a DNS response.

Description

Device communication method, device and communication device

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims priority to Chinese patent application No. 202410231109.X filed in China on February 29, 2024, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] The present application belongs to the field of communication technology, and specifically relates to a device communication method, apparatus, and communication equipment. Background Art

[0004] In related technologies, a user equipment (UE) sends a Domain Name System (DNS) query request to a network device. The request includes a fully qualified domain name (FQDN). The FQDN is resolved by a DNS server to obtain the Internet Protocol (IP) address of the application server. The network device typically determines the DNS server that resolves the domain name based on the FQDN in the DNS query request, and sends the DNS query request to the determined DNS server to query the IP address of the application server. However, determining the application server in this way may result in high energy consumption or low energy efficiency. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The embodiments of the present application provide a device communication method, apparatus, and communication device, which can solve the problem of high energy consumption or low energy efficiency that may exist in the method of determining application servers in related technologies.

[0006] In a first aspect, a device communication method is provided, which is performed by a first communication device, and the method includes:

[0007] The first communication device obtains first information;

[0008] The first communication device performs a target operation according to the first information, where the target operation includes at least one of the following:

[0009] Determine a first data network access identifier DNAI according to the energy-related information;

[0010] determining a first domain name system DNS server based on the energy related information;

[0011] determining a first application server based on the energy-related information;

[0012] Determine a first user plane function UPF according to the energy related information;

[0013] determining a priority of at least one application server based on the energy-related information;

[0014] Sending a first message to a second communication device according to the energy related information, where the first message is used to instruct the second communication device to update the application server;

[0015] A second message is sent to a third communication device according to the energy-related information, where the second message is used for at least one of the following: instructing the third communication device to send a DNS query request, and instructing the third communication device to generate a DNS response.

[0016] In a second aspect, a device communication method is provided, which is performed by a sixth communication device, the method including:

[0017] The sixth communication device obtains the third information;

[0018] The sixth communication device sends fourth information to the first communication device according to the third information;

[0019] The third information includes at least one of the following:

[0020] energy-related information of one or more data network access identifiers DNAIs;

[0021] energy-related information of one or more application servers;

[0022] Energy related information of one or more user plane functions (UPFs);

[0023] The fourth information includes at least one of the following:

[0024] Energy-related information of one or more DNAIs;

[0025] energy-related information of one or more application servers;

[0026] Energy-related information of one or more UPFs;

[0027] a second DNAI, the one or more DNAIs including the second DNAI;

[0028] an address of a second application server, the one or more application servers including the second application server;

[0029] User plane energy threshold.

[0030] According to a third aspect, a device communication method is provided, which is performed by a fifth communication device. The method includes:

[0031] The fifth communication device receives a second request from the first communication device, where the second request is used to request obtaining energy-related information of the UPF, and the second request includes at least one of the following:

[0032] The addresses of one or more application servers;

[0033] The address or identification of one or more user plane functions (UPFs);

[0034] One or more data network access identifiers DNAI.

[0035] In a fourth aspect, a device communication apparatus is provided, the apparatus comprising:

[0036] an acquiring unit, configured to acquire first information;

[0037] a processing unit, configured to perform a target operation according to the first information, where the target operation includes at least one of the following:

[0038] Determine a first data network access identifier DNAI according to the energy-related information;

[0039] determining a first domain name system DNS server based on the energy related information;

[0040] determining a first application server based on the energy-related information;

[0041] Determine a first user plane function UPF according to the energy related information;

[0042] determining a priority of at least one application server based on the energy-related information;

[0043] Sending a first message to a second communication device according to the energy related information, where the first message is used to instruct the second communication device to update the application server;

[0044] A second message is sent to a third communication device according to the energy-related information, where the second message is used for at least one of the following: instructing the third communication device to send a DNS query request, and instructing the third communication device to generate a DNS response.

[0045] In a fifth aspect, a device communication apparatus is provided, the apparatus comprising:

[0046] an acquiring unit, configured to acquire third information;

[0047] A first sending unit, configured to send fourth information to the first communication device according to the third information;

[0048] The third information includes at least one of the following:

[0049] energy-related information of one or more data network access identifiers DNAIs;

[0050] energy-related information of one or more application servers;

[0051] Energy related information of one or more user plane functions (UPFs);

[0052] The fourth information includes at least one of the following:

[0053] Energy-related information of one or more DNAIs;

[0054] energy-related information of one or more application servers;

[0055] Energy-related information of one or more UPFs;

[0056] a second DNAI, the one or more DNAIs including the second DNAI;

[0057] an address of a second application server, the one or more application servers including the second application server;

[0058] User plane energy threshold.

[0059] In a sixth aspect, a device communication apparatus is provided, the apparatus comprising:

[0060] A receiving unit, configured to receive a second request from the first communication device, where the second request is used to request obtaining energy-related information of the UPF, and the second request includes at least one of the following:

[0061] The addresses of one or more application servers;

[0062] The address or identification of one or more user plane functions (UPFs);

[0063] One or more data network access identifiers DNAI.

[0064] In the seventh aspect, a communication device is provided, which includes a processor and a memory, wherein the memory stores a program or instruction that can be run on the processor, and when the program or instruction is executed by the processor, it implements the steps of the method described in the first aspect, or implements the steps of the method described in the second aspect, or implements the steps of the method described in the third aspect.

[0065] In an eighth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising a processor and a communication interface, wherein the processor or the communication interface is configured to: obtain first information; and perform a target operation based on the first information, wherein the target operation includes at least one of the following:

[0066] Determine a first data network access identifier DNAI according to the energy-related information;

[0067] determining a first domain name system DNS server based on the energy related information;

[0068] determining a first application server based on the energy-related information;

[0069] Determine a first user plane function UPF according to the energy related information;

[0070] determining a priority of at least one application server based on the energy-related information;

[0071] Sending a first message to a second communication device according to the energy related information, where the first message is used to instruct the second communication device to update the application server;

[0072] A second message is sent to a third communication device according to the energy-related information, where the second message is used for at least one of the following: instructing the third communication device to send a DNS query request, and instructing the third communication device to generate a DNS response.

[0073] In a ninth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising a processor and a communication interface, wherein the processor or the communication interface is configured to: obtain third information; and send fourth information to a first communication device based on the third information;

[0074] The third information includes at least one of the following:

[0075] energy-related information of one or more data network access identifiers DNAIs;

[0076] energy-related information of one or more application servers;

[0077] Energy related information of one or more user plane functions (UPFs);

[0078] The fourth information includes at least one of the following:

[0079] Energy-related information of one or more DNAIs;

[0080] energy-related information of one or more application servers;

[0081] Energy-related information of one or more UPFs;

[0082] a second DNAI, the one or more DNAIs including the second DNAI;

[0083] an address of a second application server, the one or more application servers including the second application server;

[0084] User plane energy threshold.

[0085] In a tenth aspect, a communication device is provided, including a processor and a communication interface, wherein the communication interface is configured to: receive a second request from a first communication device, the second request being configured to request obtaining energy-related information of a UPF, the second request including at least one of the following:

[0086] The addresses of one or more application servers;

[0087] The address or identification of one or more user plane functions (UPFs);

[0088] One or more data network access identifiers DNAI.

[0089] In the eleventh aspect, a readable storage medium is provided, on which a program or instruction is stored. When the program or instruction is executed by a processor, the steps of the method described in the first aspect are implemented, or the steps of the method described in the second aspect are implemented, or the steps of the method described in the third aspect are implemented.

[0090] In the twelfth aspect, a wireless communication system is provided, comprising: a first communication device and a second communication device, or a first communication device and a third communication device, wherein the first communication device can be used to perform the steps of the method described in the first aspect.

[0091] In the thirteenth aspect, a chip is provided, which includes a processor and a communication interface, the communication interface and the processor are coupled, and the processor is used to run programs or instructions to implement the method as described in the first aspect, or the method as described in the second aspect, or the method as described in the third aspect.

[0092] In the fourteenth aspect, a computer program / program product is provided, which is stored in a storage medium, and the program / program product is executed by at least one processor to implement the steps of the device communication method as described in the first aspect, or the steps of the device communication method as described in the second aspect, or the steps of the device communication method as described in the third aspect.

[0093] In an embodiment of the present application, a first communication device obtains first information; the first communication device performs a target operation based on the first information, the target operation including at least one of the following: determining a first DNAI based on energy-related information; determining a first DNS server based on energy-related information; determining a first application server based on energy-related information; determining a first UPF based on energy-related information; determining a priority of at least one application server based on energy-related information; sending a first message to a second communication device based on energy-related information, the first message being used to instruct the second communication device to update the application server; and sending a second message to a third communication device based on energy-related information, the second message being used to at least one of the following: instructing the third communication device to send a DNS query request and instructing the third communication device to generate a DNS response. This facilitates the selection of an application server with lower energy consumption or higher energy efficiency, or facilitates routing to the selected application server with lower energy consumption or higher energy efficiency. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0094] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of a network structure applicable to an embodiment of the present application;

[0095] FIG2 is a flow chart of a device communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0096] FIG3 is a flow chart of another device communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0097] FIG4 is a flow chart of another device communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0098] FIG5 is a flow chart of Example 1 provided in the embodiments of the present application;

[0099] FIG6 is a flow chart of Example 2 provided in the embodiments of the present application;

[0100] FIG7 is a flow chart of Example 3 provided in the embodiments of the present application;

[0101] FIG8 is a flow chart of Example 4 provided in the embodiments of the present application;

[0102] FIG9 is a structural diagram of a device communication apparatus provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0103] FIG10 is a structural diagram of another device communication apparatus provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0104] FIG11 is a structural diagram of another device communication apparatus provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0105] FIG12 is a structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0106] FIG13 is a structural diagram of a network-side device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0107] The following will be combined with the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of this application to clearly describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application. Obviously, the embodiments described are part of the embodiments of this application, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in this application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0108] The terms "first", "second", etc. in this application are used to distinguish similar objects, and are not used to describe a specific order or sequence. It should be understood that the terms used in this way are interchangeable where appropriate, so that the embodiments of the present application can be implemented in an order other than those illustrated or described herein, and the objects distinguished by "first" and "second" are generally of the same type, and do not limit the number of objects, for example, the first object can be one or more. In addition, "or" in this application represents at least one of the connected objects. For example, "A or B" covers three options, namely, Option 1: including A but not including B; Option 2: including B but not including A; Option 3: including both A and B. The character " / " generally indicates that the objects associated before and after are in an "or" relationship.

[0109] The term "indication" in this application can be either a direct indication (or explicit indication) or an indirect indication (or implicit indication). A direct indication can be understood as the sender explicitly informing the receiver of specific information, the operation to be performed, or the requested result, etc. in the instruction sent; an indirect indication can be understood as the receiver determining the corresponding information based on the instruction sent by the sender, or making a judgment and determining the operation to be performed or the requested result, etc. based on the judgment result.

[0110] It is worth noting that the technology described in the embodiments of the present application is not limited to the Long Term Evolution (LTE) / LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) system, but can also be used in other wireless communication systems, such as Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), Single-carrier Frequency-Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) or other systems. The terms "system" and "network" in the embodiments of the present application are often used interchangeably, and the technology described can be used for the systems and radio technologies mentioned above, as well as for other systems and radio technologies. The following description describes a New Radio (NR) system for illustrative purposes, and NR terminology is used in most of the following description, but these technologies can also be applied to systems other than NR systems, such as 6th generation (6G) systems. th Generation, 6G) communication system.

[0111] FIG1 is a block diagram of a wireless communication system applicable to an embodiment of the present application. The wireless communication system includes a terminal 11 and a network-side device 12. The terminal 11 may be a mobile phone, a tablet computer (Tablet Personal Computer), a laptop computer (Laptop Computer), a notebook computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a handheld computer, a netbook, an ultra-mobile personal computer (UMPC), a mobile internet device (MID), an augmented reality (AR), a virtual reality (VR) device, a robot, a wearable device (Wearable Device), an aircraft (Flight Vehicle), a vehicle-mounted device (VUE), a ship-mounted device, a pedestrian user equipment (PUE), a smart home (home appliances with wireless communication capabilities, such as refrigerators, televisions, washing machines, or furniture), a game console, a personal computer (PC), an ATM, or a self-service machine, or other terminal-side devices. Wearable devices include: smart watches, smart bracelets, smart headphones, smart glasses, smart jewelry (smart bracelets, smart bracelets, smart rings, smart necklaces, smart anklets, smart anklets, etc.), smart wristbands, smart clothing, etc. Among them, the vehicle-mounted device can also be called a vehicle-mounted terminal, a vehicle-mounted controller, a vehicle-mounted module, a vehicle-mounted component, a vehicle-mounted chip or a vehicle-mounted unit, etc. It should be noted that the specific type of the terminal 11 is not limited in the embodiment of the present application. The network side device 12 may include an access network device or a core network device, wherein the access network device may also be called a radio access network (Radio Access Network, RAN) device, a radio access network function or a radio access network unit. The access network device may include a base station, a wireless local area network (Wireless Local Area Network, WLAN) access point (Access Point, AP) or a wireless fidelity (Wireless Fidelity, WiFi) node, etc.Among them, the base station can be referred to as Node B (NB), Evolved Node B (eNB), the next generation Node B (gNB), New Radio Node B (NR Node B), access point, Relay Base Station (RBS), Serving Base Station (SBS), Base Transceiver Station (BTS), radio base station, radio transceiver, Basic Service Set (BSS), Extended Service Set (ESS), Home Node B (HNB), Home Evolved Node B (home evolved Node B), Transmission Reception Point (TRP) or other appropriate terms in the relevant field. As long as the same technical effect is achieved, the base station is not limited to specific technical vocabulary. It should be noted that in the embodiment of the present application, only the base station in the NR system is used as an example for introduction, and the specific type of the base station is not limited.

[0112] The core network equipment may include but is not limited to at least one of the following: core network node, core network function, mobility management entity (MME), access mobility management function (AMF), session management function (SMF), user plane function (UPF), policy control function (PCF), policy and charging rules function unit (PCRF), edge application service discovery function (EASDF), unified data management (UDM), unified data repository (UDR), home user server (HSS), centralized network configuration (CNC), network storage function (NRF), network exposure function (NEF), local NEF (L-NEF), binding support function (BSF), application function ( It should be noted that in the embodiments of the present application, only the core network device in the NR system is introduced as an example, and the specific type of the core network device is not limited.

[0113] Before describing the embodiments of the present application, the following briefly introduces the relevant technologies:

[0114] In related technologies, a UE sends a DNS query request to a network device to obtain the IP address of an application server. EASDF is a core network element newly proposed by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) to process DNS query requests sent by UEs.

[0115] In this application, the application server can be replaced by a business server, an edge application server (EAS), and the like.

[0116] In the related art, the general process of EASDF processing UE DNS queries is as follows: the UE sends a DNS query request to the EASDF, and then the EASDF makes a judgment based on the DNS query request to determine whether to send the DNS query request to the DNS server of the cloud data network (C-DN) or the DNS server of the local data network (L-DN). The EASDF then sends information such as the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) in the DNS query request to the SMF, and the SMF provides the EASDF with the IP address of the corresponding DNS server, such as the IP address of the C-DNS server or the IP address of the L-DNS server. Then, after the C-DNS server or the L-DNS server queries the IP address of the application server corresponding to the FQDN, it sends it to the EASDF. The EASDF saves the query result to the SMF and then sends it to the UE. In this way, the UE obtains the IP address of the application server of the requested FQDN. However, the current EASDF related technology can only select an application server close to the terminal based on the terminal's location information. However, the application server close to the terminal is not necessarily the best application server.

[0117] When application servers handle end-user services, energy consumption varies from server to server. For example, when application server 1 is under a high service load, its energy consumption is typically higher. If a new UE is connected to application server 1, energy consumption increases further. For example, if application server 1 consumes 100W per hour, application servers with high energy consumption typically have lower service efficiency. Therefore, selecting application servers with low energy consumption for UEs is a challenge that needs to be addressed.

[0118] Core network devices (such as UPFs) consume a certain amount of energy, such as electricity, to establish and maintain a connection with an application server. Core network devices also consume a certain amount of energy to transmit data to an application server, such as the energy consumption for sending a certain amount of data. For example, every 100MB of data sent consumes 100W of electricity. Many factors contribute to high energy consumption, such as congestion or busyness at the public network egress of the data network (DN) where the application server is located, or high traffic load on the UPF, causing UPF congestion. Therefore, selecting an application server with lower energy consumption so that the core network device can transmit data to the application server with lower energy consumption is a problem that needs to be solved.

[0119] The energy consumption mentioned in this application refers to, on the one hand, the energy consumption of the network element itself, such as the energy consumption and load of the server; on the other hand, the energy consumption of the user plane for processing a certain amount of data.

[0120] In view of this, embodiments of the present application provide a device communication method, a device communication apparatus, and a communication device to solve the problem of high energy consumption that may exist in the method of determining application servers in related technologies.

[0121] In the embodiments of the present application, one or more of the first communication device, the second communication device, the third communication device, the fourth communication device, the fifth communication device, and the sixth communication device may be one or more core network devices, or may be a terminal or a base station, or at least one of network-side devices. The first communication device may be an SMF, a PCF, or other communication device, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0122] The second communication device may be an EASDF or other communication device, and is not limited in the embodiment of the present application.

[0123] The third communication device may be a UE or other communication device, and is not limited in the embodiment of the present application.

[0124] The fourth communication device may be an NRF or other communication device, and is not limited in the embodiment of the present application.

[0125] The fifth communication device may be a UPF or operations, administration and maintenance (OAM) or operations and maintenance (O&M), or other communication devices, and is not limited in the present embodiment. OAM can also be understood as operations and maintenance.

[0126] The sixth communication device may be an AF, an NEF, or other communication devices, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present application.

[0127] The device communication method provided in the embodiments of the present application is described in detail below through some embodiments and their application scenarios in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0128] FIG2 is a flow chart of a device communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG2 , the device communication method includes the following steps:

[0129] Step 201: The first communication device obtains first information;

[0130] Step 202: The first communication device performs a target operation according to the first information, where the target operation includes at least one of the following:

[0131] Determine a first data network access identifier (DN Access Identifier, DNAI) according to the energy-related information;

[0132] Determining a first DNS server based on energy-related information;

[0133] determining a first application server based on the energy-related information;

[0134] Determine a first UPF based on energy-related information;

[0135] determining a priority of at least one application server based on the energy-related information;

[0136] Sending a first message to a second communication device according to the energy related information, where the first message is used to instruct the second communication device to update the application server;

[0137] A second message is sent to a third communication device according to the energy-related information, where the second message is used for at least one of the following: instructing the third communication device to send a DNS query request, and instructing the third communication device to generate a DNS response.

[0138] The “energy related information” involved in the embodiments of the present application may include at least one of energy consumption (EC) information (abbreviated as energy consumption) and energy efficiency (EE) information (abbreviated as energy efficiency).

[0139] Energy consumption is the total amount of energy used to achieve a specific purpose, expressed in joules (J) or watt-hours (Wh). Energy efficiency is the relationship between useful output and energy consumption, typically expressed as data volume (DV) divided by the energy consumed to transmit that data volume, or EE = DV / EC.

[0140] For example, a UPF consumes 100 joules or 20 kilowatt-hours to transmit 10G of data. In a network, different routing distances, different levels of routing congestion, and data transmission to different application servers all contribute to different energy consumption when transmitting the same amount of data.

[0141] In the embodiment of the present application, energy consumption may include the energy consumption of the server and the energy consumption of the UPF. For example, the energy consumption of the server or UPF per unit time, or the energy consumed by the server or UPF in processing a certain task, or the energy consumed in forwarding a unit of data to the server, or the energy consumed by the UPF in processing a unit of data.

[0142] In the embodiment of the present application, "energy-related information" can be collected. For example, the average energy consumption of a certain application server can be collected, the average energy consumption of a certain UPF can be collected, and the energy consumption of all data transmitted by a certain UPF to a certain application server can be collected.

[0143] In one embodiment, DNAI, application server, etc. can be determined based on energy-related information, because each DNAI or application server corresponds to energy-related information (energy consumption or energy efficiency).

[0144] For each DNAI, the energy-related information of DNAI can be understood as: one understanding is the energy consumption of the user plane corresponding to the DNAI, or the energy consumption of forwarding certain data on the user plane, or the energy efficiency of the user plane; another understanding is the energy consumption or energy efficiency of forwarding data to the data network (DN) corresponding to the DNAI.

[0145] For each first DNS server, the energy-related information of the first DNS server can be understood as: the energy consumption or energy efficiency of the DNS server itself; or, the energy consumption corresponding to the application server address obtained when the DNS server resolves a specific domain name (for example, resolving the first FQDN). For example, the first DNS server resolves the domain name ABC.com and obtains three server addresses, namely {100.1.1.1, 100.1.1.2, 100.1.1.3}, then the energy-related information of the first DNS server can be understood as the energy consumption or energy efficiency of the application servers corresponding to the three resolved IP addresses; or, the energy consumption or energy efficiency of the user plane sending unit data to the application servers corresponding to the three IP addresses respectively.

[0146] For each first application server, the energy-related information may be the energy consumption of the first application server itself, or the energy consumed by a user plane sending a specific amount of data to the server.

[0147] For the first UPF, the energy-related information may be the energy consumption of the first UPF itself, or the energy consumption or energy efficiency of the first UPF in sending a specific amount of data.

[0148] The above-mentioned first information may include one or more energy-related information, and may also include one or more information determined by other communication devices based on one or more “energy-related information”.

[0149] There are many ways for the first communication device to obtain the first information. For example, the first communication device can obtain the first information from the AF, or from a core network device such as the OAM or UPF, or from the EASDF (such as the FQDN in the DNS query request). In the case where the first communication device obtains information from both the AF and the OAM or UPF, in order to distinguish the information obtained in different ways, the information obtained from the AF can be referred to as the fourth information, the information obtained from the OAM or UPF can be referred to as the fifth information, and so on. In this case, the first information includes the fourth information and the fifth information. The fourth information and the fifth information will be explained later.

[0150] The first communication device may be, for example, a core network device such as SMF or PCF. For ease of description, the following description will mainly use SMF as the first communication device.

[0151] In an embodiment of the present application, a first communication device obtains first information; the first communication device performs a target operation based on the first information, the target operation including at least one of the following: determining a first DNAI based on energy-related information; determining a first DNS server based on energy-related information; determining a first application server based on energy-related information; determining a first UPF based on energy-related information; determining a priority of at least one application server based on energy-related information; sending a first message to a second communication device based on energy-related information, the first message being used to instruct the second communication device to update the application server; and sending a second message to a third communication device based on energy-related information, the second message being used to at least one of the following: instructing the third communication device to send a DNS query request and instructing the third communication device to generate a DNS response. In this way, since each of the above target operations takes energy-related information into consideration, determining the application server through the above target operation can avoid the problem of high energy consumption or low energy efficiency.

[0152] In an embodiment of the present application, for different first information, the target operation performed by the first communication device may be different. For example, if the first information includes one or more energy-related information, the target operation may include one or more of the first five operations of the above-mentioned target operations; if the first information includes one or more information determined by other communication devices based on one or more "energy-related information", the target operation may not include one or more of the first five operations of the above-mentioned target operations.

[0153] Sending a first message to the second communication device based on energy-related information can be understood as the first communication device judging, based on capability-related information, that the energy consumption of the application server to which the second communication device is connected is high, or judging that the energy consumption required for the second communication device to transmit data packets to the connected application server is high. In this case, the first communication device sends a first message to the second communication device, instructing the second communication device to update the application server.

[0154] The second communication device may include, for example, a UPF or a UE. Here, the UPF may be, for example, the first UPF determined by the first communication device based on energy-related information, or the second UPF directly indicated in the first information (this case will be described in the following implementation), or other UPFs, which are not limited in this embodiment of the present application. After receiving the first message, the UPF may initiate a routing switching process, which may be understood as changing the IP address of the application server.

[0155] The UE may be, for example, a UE that sends a DNS query request. After receiving the first message, the UE may request a DNS re-query.

[0156] The first message may include an indication for instructing a server update. The specific method for the second communication device to update the application server is not limited. In addition to including an indication for instructing a server update, the first message may also include a specific update target, such as a specific application server IP address, a specific FQDN, or a specific DNAI.

[0157] It should be noted that the first message may instruct the second communication device to update the application server through its message type, or may instruct the second communication device to update the application server through information included in the first message.

[0158] In one implementation, the first communication device SMF sends a first message to the UE. The first message may be a downlink NAS message (DL NAS message). The downlink NAS message may carry indication information, and the indication information is used to instruct the terminal to clear the DNS cache or instruct the terminal to re-query the DNS.

[0159] Optionally, the first message includes at least one of the following:

[0160] the address of the first application server;

[0161] The address of the second application server.

[0162] The address of the application server can be understood as the IP address of the application server, and the rest of the same descriptions can be understood in the same way.

[0163] In one implementation, when the first message includes the address of the first application server, the UE may directly use the address to establish an application layer connection.

[0164] In one implementation, when the SMF sends the first message to the UPF, the UPF may establish a connection to the first application server address.

[0165] For the UPF, the UPF may replace the address of the source application server with the address of the first application server or the address of the second application server indicated in the first message, so that the UPF is connected to an application server with lower energy consumption (or higher energy efficiency).

[0166] Based on the energy-related information, a second message is sent to the third communication device. It can be that the first communication device determines a DNAI, DNS server or application server with lower energy consumption (or higher energy efficiency) based on the capability-related information, and thus carries the corresponding information in the second message to instruct the third communication device to forward the DNS query request to the corresponding DNS server, or to instruct the third communication device to carry the address of the corresponding application server in the DNS response).

[0167] The third communication device may be, for example, an EASDF.

[0168] When the first communication device sends a second message to the third communication device, it can be understood that the SMF instructs the EASDF, through the second message, on the action to be performed. For example, if the second message is used to instruct the third communication device to send a DNS query request, the SMF, through the second message, instructs the EASDF to forward the DNS query request. For another example, if the second message is used to instruct the third communication device to generate a DNS response, the SMF, through the second message, instructs the EASDF to perform the DNS response action.

[0169] It should be noted that the second message can instruct the third communication device to perform the forwarding action of the DNS query request (or perform the DNS response action) through its message type, or it can instruct the third communication device to perform the forwarding action of the DNS query request (or perform the DNS response action) through the information contained in the second message.

[0170] Optionally, when the second message is used to instruct the third communication device to send a DNS query request, the second message includes at least one of the following:

[0171] The DNS server address corresponding to the first DNAI;

[0172] The DNS server address corresponding to the second DNAI;

[0173] the address of the first DNS server;

[0174] the address of the first application server;

[0175] The address of the second application server.

[0176] In one embodiment, the first communication device SMF sends a second message to the third communication device EASDF, where the second message is Neasdf_DNSContext_Update Request. The second message includes a DNS handling rule, which is used for at least one of the following:

[0177] Instruct the EASDF to send a DNS query, where the DNS query is sent to a first DNS server, and the first DNS server is capable of resolving the address of the application server with the lowest energy consumption or the highest energy efficiency;

[0178] Instruct the EASDF to generate, or send, a DNS response to the UE, where the DNS response includes a first application server address, where the first application server address is the address with the lowest energy consumption and the highest energy efficiency, and the first application server address is the address corresponding to the first FQDN. The correspondence here means that the first application server address can be obtained by resolving the first FQDN.

[0179] In this way, the third communication device can send the DNS query request to a suitable DNS server based on the above information in the second message, so that the DNS server can resolve an application server with lower energy consumption (or higher energy efficiency).

[0180] Optionally, when the second message is used to instruct the third communications device to generate a DNS response, the second message includes at least one of the following:

[0181] the address of the first application server;

[0182] The address of the second application server.

[0183] In this way, the third communication device can send the above information in the second message to the terminal in a DNS response, so that the terminal can connect to an application server with lower energy consumption (or higher energy efficiency).

[0184] In some embodiments, the method further comprises:

[0185] The first communication device sends second information to the third communication device, where the second information includes priority information of the at least one application server.

[0186] The priority information of at least one application server included in the second information can be provided to the terminal so that the terminal can preferentially access application servers with higher priorities, thereby allowing the terminal to preferentially access application servers with lower energy consumption (or higher energy efficiency).

[0187] In one embodiment, the first communication device SMF sends second information to the third communication device EASDF, and the second information may be sent via Neasdf_DNSContext_Update Request. The second information includes priority information corresponding to at least one application server address. The third communication device may prioritize at least one application server based on the priority information (for example, adjusting the priority of a server with low energy consumption or high energy efficiency to the highest level and placing it at the front of the DNS response). The EASDF generates a DNS response and sends the DNS response to the UE, where the DNS response includes at least one application server address, and each application server address corresponds to a priority.

[0188] In one embodiment, in the default DNS response, the server ranked first has the highest priority.

[0189] Optionally, determining the priority of at least one application server according to the energy-related information includes at least one of the following:

[0190] determining a priority of the at least one application server according to an order of energy consumption of the at least one application server from low to high;

[0191] The priority of the at least one application server is determined in descending order of energy efficiency of the at least one application server.

[0192] That is, the lower the energy consumption of an application server, the higher its corresponding priority; and the higher the energy efficiency of an application server, the higher its corresponding priority.

[0193] Optionally, the first information includes at least one of the following:

[0194] Energy-related information of one or more DNAIs;

[0195] energy-related information of one or more application servers;

[0196] energy-related information of one or more DNS servers;

[0197] Energy-related information of one or more UPFs;

[0198] Energy-related information of one or more FQDNs;

[0199] First FQDN;

[0200] Second DNAI;

[0201] The address of the second application server;

[0202] the address or identifier of the second UPF;

[0203] User plane energy threshold.

[0204] The application server corresponds to at least one DNAI;

[0205] The DNS server corresponds to at least one DNAI;

[0206] The UPF corresponds to at least one DNAI;

[0207] The FQDN corresponds to at least one DNAI.

[0208] The one or more FQDNs may include the first FQDN. The first FQDN may be understood as the FQDN carried in the DNS query request sent by the terminal, and the EASDF may send the first FQDN to the SMF. The first FQDN may be associated with the first DNAI, or the first FQDN may be resolved by the DNS server under the first DNAI.

[0209] The energy-related information of the one or more DNAIs may be provided by the AF. For example, the AF opens the energy-related information of the DNAI to the NEF, and then the NEF may send the energy-related information of the DNAI to other core network elements.

[0210] The energy-related information of the one or more DNAIs may also be provided by OAM or UPF. For example, SMF subscribes to the energy-related information of the one or more DNAIs from OAM or UPF.

[0211] The one or more DNAIs may include the first DNAI and may also include the second DNAI. The first DNAI may be a DNAI selected through energy-related information corresponding to at least one DNAI (for example, low energy consumption and high energy efficiency). The second DNAI may be understood as a DNAI directly indicated by the AF, and the energy consumption of the second DNAI is low (or the energy efficiency is high). In one embodiment, the AF may subscribe to the energy-related information of the DNAI from the OAM, etc., and then the AF indicates the second DNAI (corresponding to low energy consumption and high energy efficiency) to the 5G core network element.

[0212] The energy-related information of the one or more application servers may be provided by the AF. For example, the AF opens the energy-related information of the application server to the NEF, and then the NEF may send the energy-related information of the DNAI to other core network elements.

[0213] The energy-related information of one or more application servers (here understood as the energy consumption or energy efficiency of forwarding a certain amount of data to the application server) can also be provided by OAM or UPF. For example, SMF subscribes to the energy-related information of one or more application servers to OAM or UPF, and UPF counts the energy consumed by sending a certain amount of data to different application servers, or the energy efficiency, and then UPF sends the statistical results to OAM or UPF.

[0214] The one or more application servers may include the first application server, which may be an application server selected based on energy-related information corresponding to at least one application server (e.g., having low energy consumption and high energy efficiency). The second application server may also be included. The address of the second application server may be understood as the address of the application server directly indicated by the AF, and the second application server may have low energy consumption (or high energy efficiency).

[0215] The one or more DNS servers may include the first DNS server.

[0216] The energy-related information of the DNS server can be understood as: the FQDN that the DNS server can resolve, and the energy-related information corresponding to the FQDN. Alternatively, the energy-related information of the DNS server is the energy-related information corresponding to the application server address obtained by resolving the FQDN by the DNS server.

[0217] The energy-related information of the one or more UPFs may be provided by the OAM or UPF. For example, the first communication device subscribes to the energy-related information of the one or more UPFs from the OAM or UPF.

[0218] The energy-related information of the one or more UPFs may also be provided by the AF. For example, the AF subscribes to the energy-related information of the one or more UPFs from the OAM or the UPF.

[0219] The energy-related information of the one or more UPFs may also be provided by the NRF. For example, the SMF requests the NRF to find the UPF, and the NRF provides the address or identifier of the corresponding UPF, or the energy-related information of the UPF.

[0220] In one embodiment, the SMF sends a network function entity query request (Nnrf_NFDiscovery_Request) to the NRF; the NRF sends an Nnrf_NFDiscovery_Response to the SMF, and the response includes the user plane ID, or the user plane address, or the energy-related information corresponding to the user plane ID or address. The above-mentioned user plane may include one user plane or multiple user planes.

[0221] In another embodiment, after the SMF queries at least one UPF identifier or address through NRF (Nnrf_NFDiscovery_Request and Nnrf_NFDiscovery_Response), the SMF sends a request to the OAM or energy-related information management network element (a network element used to manage energy-related information of core network elements) to request energy-related information corresponding to at least one UPF.

[0222] In one embodiment, the core network element may include an energy-related information management element, which is primarily used to manage the energy-related information of the core network element. For example, the element may manage or obtain energy-related information of the UPF in real time and provide the information to the demand side, such as the SMF.

[0223] In one implementation, core network elements such as SMF may obtain at least one item of the first information through energy-related information management network elements.

[0224] The one or more UPFs may include the first UPF, which may be a UPF selected based on energy-related information corresponding to at least one UPF (e.g., low energy consumption and high energy efficiency). The one or more UPFs may also include the second UPF. The second UPF may have lower energy consumption (or higher energy efficiency) and may be a user plane directly indicated by the OAM or NRF.

[0225] The energy-related information of the DNS server can be understood as the energy-related information corresponding to the FQDN that can be resolved by the DNS server.

[0226] The energy-related information of an FQDN can be understood as the energy-related information corresponding to the application server address corresponding to the FQDN, or the energy-related information corresponding to the application server address obtained by resolving the FQDN. An FQDN can include multiple energy-related information because a single FQDN can be resolved to obtain the addresses of multiple application servers. Therefore, each of the multiple application server addresses corresponds to one energy-related information. Based on the energy-related information, the energy consumption or energy efficiency corresponding to each application server after the FQDN is resolved can be determined.

[0227] It should be noted that the first DNAI and the second DNAI may be the same DNAI. The difference between the two is that the first DNAI is determined by the first communication device based on energy-related information, while the second DNAI is determined and indicated by other communications based on energy-related information. The first application server and the second application server, the first UPF and the second UPF can be understood similarly. To avoid repetition, this is not described in detail.

[0228] Optionally, the first information further includes at least one of the following:

[0229] The addresses of the application servers associated with the one or more DNAIs;

[0230] The addresses of the one or more DNS servers associated with the DNAI;

[0231] The address or identifier of the UPF associated with the one or more DNAIs;

[0232] The one or more FQDNs associated with the DNAI;

[0233] DNAIs associated with the one or more application servers;

[0234] DNAIs associated with the one or more DNS servers;

[0235] DNAI associated with the one or more UPFs;

[0236] DNAI associated with the one or more FQDNs;

[0237] The address of the application server associated with the one or more FQDNs;

[0238] The address of the DNS server associated with the one or more FQDNs;

[0239] The FQDN associated with the one or more application servers;

[0240] The FQDN associated with the one or more DNS servers.

[0241] Optionally, the target operation further includes at least one of the following:

[0242] Determining, according to the first DNAI, an application server associated with the first DNAI;

[0243] Determining, according to the first DNAI, a DNS server associated with the first DNAI;

[0244] Determining, based on the first DNAI, a UPF associated with the first DNAI;

[0245] Determining, according to the first application server, a DNAI associated with the first application server;

[0246] Determining, according to the first DNS server, a DNAI associated with the first DNS server;

[0247] Determining a DNAI associated with the first UPF according to the first UPF;

[0248] Determining a DNAI associated with the first FQDN based on the first FQDN;

[0249] Determining, based on the first FQDN, an application server associated with the first FQDN;

[0250] Determine, according to the first FQDN, a DNS server associated with the first FQDN.

[0251] In one implementation, each item of information in the first information may be provided in a list.

[0252] Illustratively, the first information includes at least one of the following:

[0253] DNAI list, the DNAI list including at least one of the following:

[0254] at least one DNAI;

[0255] Energy-related information corresponding to at least one DNAI;

[0256] An application server list, the application server list including at least one of the following:

[0257] At least one application server address;

[0258] energy-related information corresponding to at least one application server address;

[0259] DNAI corresponding to at least one application server address;

[0260] A DNS server list, wherein the DNS server list includes at least one of the following:

[0261] At least one DNS server address;

[0262] DNAI corresponding to at least one DNS server address;

[0263] UPF list, the UPF list including at least one of the following:

[0264] At least one UPF address or identifier;

[0265] Energy-related information corresponding to at least one UPF address or identifier;

[0266] DNAI corresponding to at least one UPF;

[0267] An FQDN list, wherein the FQDN list includes at least one of the following:

[0268] Energy-related information corresponding to at least one FQDN;

[0269] At least one DNAI corresponding to at least one FQDN;

[0270] First FQDN.

[0271] Optionally, the user plane energy threshold includes at least one of the following:

[0272] Maximum allowed user plane energy consumption value (Maximum allowed EC);

[0273] Minimum allowed user plane energy efficiency value (Minimum allowed EE).

[0274] Here, the maximum allowed user plane energy consumption value can be understood as the upper limit of energy consumption allowed for a certain user plane to access a certain server. The minimum allowed user plane energy efficiency value can be understood as the lower limit of energy efficiency allowed for a certain user plane to access a certain server.

[0275] When the first communication device receives the user plane energy threshold information, it needs to select the UPF according to the user plane energy threshold. The UPF selected by the first communication device cannot exceed the user plane energy threshold, for example, cannot be higher than the Maximum allowed EC, or cannot be lower than the Minimum allowed EE.

[0276] In one implementation, the SMF selects the UPF based on the Maximum allowed EC or the Minimum allowed EE.

[0277] In one embodiment, the SMF sends an Nnrf_NFDiscovery_Request to the NRF, wherein the request includes the maximum allowed user plane energy consumption value (Maximum allowed EC) or the minimum allowed EE; the NRF sends an Nnrf_NFDiscovery_Response to the SMF, wherein the response includes the user plane ID or the user plane address. The above-mentioned user plane may include one user plane or multiple user planes, and the user plane is a user plane that meets the Maximum allowed EC or the Minimum allowed EE.

[0278] In another embodiment, after the SMF obtains at least one UPF identifier or address through NRF (Nnrf_NFDiscovery_Request and Nnrf_NFDiscovery_Response), the SMF sends a request to the OAM or energy-related information management network element (a network element used to manage energy-related information of core network elements). The request includes the address or identifier of at least one UPF, requesting to obtain energy-related information of at least one UPF. The SMF then compares the energy-related information of the UPF with the Maximum allowed EC or Minimum allowed EE, and screens out UPFs that meet the conditions (Maximum allowed EC or Minimum allowed EE).

[0279] In one embodiment, core network elements may screen network elements that match the Maximum allowed EC or Minimum allowed EE based on the Maximum allowed EC or Minimum allowed EE, or the energy-related information of the network elements. Network elements whose energy-related information does not exceed the maximum user plane energy consumption value (Maximum allowed EC) or is not less than the Minimum allowed EE are considered eligible network elements.

[0280] It should be noted that part of the first information mentioned above may come from the AF, such as at least one of the following:

[0281] Energy-related information of one or more DNAIs;

[0282] energy-related information of one or more application servers;

[0283] Energy-related information of one or more UPFs;

[0284] a second DNAI, the one or more DNAIs including the second DNAI;

[0285] an address of a second application server, the one or more application servers including the second application server;

[0286] User plane energy threshold.

[0287] Part of the first information may come from OAM or UPF, such as at least one of the following:

[0288] Energy-related information of one or more UPFs;

[0289] The address or identification of the second UPF.

[0290] In the above-mentioned first information, part of the information may come from the EASDF, such as the first FQDN.

[0291] In combination with the above-mentioned first information, the conditions satisfied by the first DNAI, the first application server, the first DNS server and the first UPF determined by the first communication device are described respectively below.

[0292] Optionally, the one or more DNAIs include the first DNAI;

[0293] Wherein, the first DNAI is the DNAI with the lowest energy consumption among the one or more DNAIs; or

[0294] The first DNAI is the DNAI with the highest energy efficiency among the one or more DNAIs.

[0295] Optionally, the first communication device determines a first DNAI according to the first condition;

[0296] The first condition includes at least one of the following:

[0297] The energy consumption of the first DNAI is the lowest among the energy consumptions of the one or more DNAIs;

[0298] The energy efficiency of the first DNAI is the highest among the energy efficiencies of the one or more DNAIs.

[0299] Optionally, the one or more application servers include the first application server;

[0300] Wherein, the first application server is the application server with the lowest energy consumption among the one or more application servers; or

[0301] The first application server is the application server with the highest energy efficiency among the one or more application servers; or

[0302] The first application server is an application server associated with the first DNAI; or

[0303] The first application server is the application server associated with the first FQDN.

[0304] Here, the first application server is an application server associated with the first FQDN. It can be understood that the DNS server can obtain the address of the first application server by resolving the first FQDN.

[0305] Optionally, the first communication device determines the first application server according to the second condition;

[0306] The second condition includes at least one of the following:

[0307] The energy consumption of the first application server is the lowest among the energy consumption of the one or more application servers;

[0308] The energy efficiency of the first application server is the highest among the energy efficiencies of the one or more application servers;

[0309] The first application server is associated with the first FQDN. The association of the first application server with the first FQDN can be understood as that the DNS server (for example, the first DNS server) obtains the address of the first application server after resolving the first FQDN.

[0310] The first application server is associated with the first DNAI; the association of the first application server with the first FQDN can be understood as, the address of the first application server belongs to the first DNAI, or, the address of the first application server can be converted or mapped into the first DNAI.

[0311] Optionally, the one or more DNS servers include the first DNS server;

[0312] The first DNS server is the DNS server with the lowest energy consumption among the one or more DNS servers; or

[0313] The first DNS server is the DNS server with the highest energy efficiency among the one or more DNS servers; or

[0314] The first DNS server is the DNS server associated with the first DNAI; or

[0315] The first DNS server is the DNS server associated with the first FQDN.

[0316] Here, the first DNS server is a DNS server associated with the first FQDN. It can be understood that the first DNS server can resolve the first FQDN.

[0317] Optionally, the first communication device determines the first DNS server according to the third condition;

[0318] The third condition includes at least one of the following:

[0319] The energy consumption of the first DNS server is the lowest among the energy consumption of the one or more DNS servers;

[0320] The energy efficiency of the first DNS server is the highest among the energy efficiencies of the one or more DNS servers;

[0321] The first DNS server is associated with the first FQDN; the association between the first DNS server and the first FQDN can be understood as the first DNS server being able to resolve the first FQDN to obtain the corresponding application server address;

[0322] The first DNS server is associated with the first DNAI; the association between the first DNS server and the first DNAI can be understood as that the first DNS server is located under the first DNAI, or the first DNS server is associated with the first DNAI, or the DNAI where the first DNS server is located is the first DNAI;

[0323] Optionally, the energy consumption of the first DNS server is the lowest among the energy consumptions of the one or more DNS servers, or the energy efficiency of the first DNS server is the highest among the energy efficiency of the one or more DNS servers. This can also be understood as:

[0324] The first DNS server resolves the first FQDN, and the energy consumption of the application server address obtained is the lowest (lower than the energy consumption of the application server obtained by resolving the first FQDN by other DNS servers).

[0325] The first DNS server resolves the first FQDN, and the energy efficiency of the application server address obtained is the highest (higher than the energy efficiency of the application server address obtained by other DNS servers resolving the first FQDN).

[0326] Optionally, the one or more UPFs include the first UPF;

[0327] Wherein, the first UPF is the UPF with the lowest energy consumption among the one or more UPFs; or

[0328] The first UPF is the UPF with the highest energy efficiency among the one or more UPFs; or

[0329] The first UPF is the UPF associated with the first DNAI; or

[0330] The first UPF is the UPF associated with the second DNAI; or

[0331] The first UPF is the UPF associated with the first application server; or

[0332] The first UPF is the UPF associated with the second application server; or

[0333] The first UPF is the UPF associated with the first DNS server; or

[0334] The first UPF is the UPF associated with the second DNS server; or

[0335] The first UPF is a UPF whose energy-related information meets the user plane energy threshold.

[0336] Here, the first UPF is the UPF associated with the first application server, which can be understood as the first UPF supporting routing to the first application server. Other similar items can be understood similarly, and to avoid repetition, they are not described in detail.

[0337] Optionally, the first communication device determines the first UPF according to the fourth condition;

[0338] The fourth condition includes at least one of the following:

[0339] The energy consumption of the first UPF is the lowest among the energy consumption of the one or more UPFs;

[0340] The energy efficiency of the first UPF is the highest among the energy efficiencies of the one or more UPFs;

[0341] The first UPF is associated with a first DNAI;

[0342] The first UPF is associated with the second DNAI;

[0343] The first UPF is associated with the first server; the first UPF is associated with the first server, which can be understood as the first UPF being able to be routed to the first server, or the first UPF and the first server are both associated with the same DNAI;

[0344] The first UPF is associated with the second server; the first UPF is associated with the second server, which can be understood as the first UPF being able to route to the second server, or the first UPF and the second server are both associated with the same DNAI;

[0345] The first UPF is associated with the first DNS server; the first UPF is associated with the first DNS server, which can be understood as the first UPF being able to route to the first DNS server, or the first UPF and the first DNS server are both associated with the same DNAI; or the application server address obtained by the first DNS server resolving the first FQDN can be routed to the application server through the first UPF;

[0346] The first UPF is associated with the second DNS server; the first UPF is associated with the second DNS server, which can be understood as the first UPF being able to route to the second DNS server, or the first UPF and the second DNS server are both associated with the same DNAI; or the application server address obtained by the second DNS server resolving the first FQDN can be routed to the application server through the first UPF;

[0347] As mentioned above, the SMF may request the NRF to search for the UPF. The following describes the relevant optional implementation methods.

[0348] In some embodiments, the method further comprises:

[0349] The first communication device sends a first request to the fourth communication device, where the first request is used to request the fourth communication device to search for a UPF;

[0350] The first request includes at least one of the following:

[0351] the first DNAI;

[0352] the second DNAI;

[0353] the address of the first application server;

[0354] the address of the second application server;

[0355] The user plane energy threshold.

[0356] Here, the fourth communication device may be, for example, an NRF.

[0357] By carrying the above information in the first request, the fourth communication device can find a UPF with lower energy consumption (or higher energy efficiency) according to the above information.

[0358] It should be noted that if the first request includes the first DNAI, the above-mentioned UPF search process is executed after the first communication device determines the first DNAI, that is, the first communication device first obtains the first information, and then determines the first DNAI based on the first information, and then sends the first request to the fourth communication device.

[0359] If the first request includes the second DNAI, the above-mentioned UPF search process can be performed after the first communication device obtains the first information.

[0360] The rest of the cases are similar and will not be described in detail to avoid repetition.

[0361] As mentioned above, the first communication device may subscribe to energy-related information of one or more UPFs from the OAM or UPF. The following describes relevant optional implementation methods.

[0362] In some embodiments, before the first communication device acquires the first information, the method further includes:

[0363] The first communication device sends a second request to the fifth communication device, where the second request is used to request obtaining energy-related information of the UPF, and the second request includes at least one of the following:

[0364] The addresses of one or more application servers;

[0365] the address or identification of one or more UPFs;

[0366] One or more DNAIs.

[0367] In this way, the first communication device can obtain the energy-related information of the UPF from the fifth communication device by requesting the fifth communication device. This part of information is the aforementioned fifth information. The fifth communication device can also be an energy-related information management network element.

[0368] Here, the fifth communication device may be, for example, an OAM or a UPF. Acquiring the energy-related information of the UPF may be replaced by subscribing to the energy-related information of the UPF.

[0369] If the second request includes the addresses of one or more application servers, it can be understood that the second request is used to request to obtain the energy-related information required for the UPF to access the application servers corresponding to the addresses of the one or more application servers.

[0370] If the second request includes the addresses or identifiers of one or more UPFs, it can be understood that the second request is used to request to obtain the energy-related information required for the UPFs corresponding to the addresses or identifiers of the one or more UPFs to access the application server.

[0371] If the second request includes one or more DNAIs, it can be understood that the second request is used to request to obtain all energy-related information required for the UPF to access the application server through the one or more DNAIs.

[0372] In one embodiment, after the first communication device determines the first DNAI or the first application server address, or receives the second DNAI or the second application server address, it may further perform at least one of the following:

[0373] Send a request to UPF, requesting UPF to establish a route to the first DNAI or the first application server.

[0374] Send a request to the UPF, requesting the user plane to replace the IP address and replace the IP address with the second application server address.

[0375] In summary, in the embodiments of the present application, it helps to select an application server with lower energy consumption or higher energy efficiency, or it helps to route to the selected application server with lower energy consumption or higher energy efficiency, thereby reducing the energy consumption of the application server or UPF.

[0376] FIG3 shows a flow chart of a device communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG3 , the device communication method includes the following steps:

[0377] Step 301: The sixth communication device obtains third information, where the third information includes at least one of the following:

[0378] Energy-related information of one or more DNAIs;

[0379] energy-related information of one or more application servers;

[0380] Energy-related information of one or more UPFs;

[0381] Step 302: The sixth communication device sends fourth information to the first communication device based on the third information, where the fourth information includes at least one of the following:

[0382] Energy-related information of one or more DNAIs;

[0383] energy-related information of one or more application servers;

[0384] Energy-related information of one or more UPFs;

[0385] a second DNAI, the one or more DNAIs including the second DNAI;

[0386] an address of a second application server, the one or more application servers including the second application server;

[0387] User plane energy threshold.

[0388] In the embodiment of the present application, the sixth communication device may be, for example, an AF.

[0389] In one implementation, the sixth communication device AF may send a subscription to the energy-related information management network element to subscribe to at least one of the following energy-related information:

[0390] Energy-related information of one or more DNAIs;

[0391] energy-related information of one or more application servers;

[0392] Energy-related information for one or more UPFs.

[0393] In the embodiment of the present application, "subscription" can be understood as a subscription request.

[0394] There are multiple ways for the sixth communication device to obtain the third information. For example, the sixth communication device can directly obtain the following third information from each application server: energy-related information of one or more DNAIs and energy-related information of one or more application servers. The sixth communication device can also obtain the following third information by subscribing to the OAM or UPF: energy-related information of one or more UPFs.

[0395] Optionally, the fourth information further includes at least one of the following:

[0396] The addresses of the application servers associated with the one or more DNAIs;

[0397] The addresses of the one or more DNS servers associated with the DNAI;

[0398] The address or identifier of the UPF associated with the one or more DNAIs;

[0399] The one or more FQDNs associated with the DNAI;

[0400] DNAIs associated with the one or more application servers;

[0401] DNAIs associated with the one or more DNS servers;

[0402] DNAI associated with the one or more UPFs;

[0403] DNAI associated with the one or more FQDNs;

[0404] The address of the application server associated with the one or more FQDNs;

[0405] The address of the DNS server associated with the one or more FQDNs;

[0406] The FQDN associated with the one or more application servers;

[0407] The FQDN associated with the one or more DNS servers.

[0408] Optionally, the energy-related information includes at least one of energy consumption information and energy efficiency information.

[0409] Optionally, the user plane energy threshold includes at least one of the following:

[0410] Maximum allowed user plane energy consumption value;

[0411] The minimum allowed user plane energy efficiency value.

[0412] Optionally, the second DNAI is the DNAI with the lowest energy consumption among the one or more DNAIs; or

[0413] The second DNAI is the DNAI with the highest energy efficiency among the one or more DNAIs.

[0414] Optionally, the second application server is an application server with the lowest energy consumption among the one or more application servers; or

[0415] The second application server is the application server with the highest energy efficiency among the one or more application servers; or

[0416] The second application server is an application server associated with the second DNAI.

[0417] Optionally, the method further includes:

[0418] The sixth communication device sends a third request to the fifth communication device, where the third request is used to request obtaining energy-related information of the UPF;

[0419] The third request includes at least one of the following:

[0420] The address of at least one application server;

[0421] the address or identification of at least one UPF;

[0422] At least one DNAI.

[0423] Here, the fifth communication device may be, for example, an OAM or a UPF.

[0424] In summary, in the embodiments of the present application, it helps to select an application server with lower energy consumption or higher energy efficiency, or it helps to route to the selected application server with lower energy consumption or higher energy efficiency, thereby reducing the energy consumption of the application server or UPF.

[0425] For the relevant description of the embodiments of the present application, please refer to the relevant description of the method embodiment of Figure 2, and the same technical effects can be achieved. To avoid repetition, they will not be described in detail.

[0426] FIG4 shows a flow chart of a device communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG4 , the device communication method includes the following steps:

[0427] Step 401: The fifth communication device receives a second request from the first communication device, where the second request is used to request energy-related information of the UPF, and the second request includes at least one of the following:

[0428] The addresses of one or more application servers;

[0429] The address or identification of one or more user plane functions (UPFs);

[0430] One or more data network access identifiers DNAI.

[0431] In one implementation, the fifth communication device may be an energy-related information management network element.

[0432] In some embodiments, the method further comprises:

[0433] The fifth communication device sends energy-related information of one or more UPFs to the first communication device based on the second request.

[0434] It should be noted that the fifth communication device may also receive a third request from the sixth communication device, where the third request is used to request obtaining energy-related information of the UPF, and the third request includes at least one of the following:

[0435] The addresses of one or more application servers;

[0436] The address or identification of one or more user plane functions (UPFs);

[0437] One or more data network access identifiers DNAI.

[0438] In some embodiments, the method further comprises:

[0439] The fifth communication device sends energy-related information of one or more UPFs to the sixth communication device based on the third request.

[0440] In summary, in the embodiments of the present application, it helps to select an application server with lower energy consumption or higher energy efficiency, or it helps to route to the selected application server with lower energy consumption or higher energy efficiency, thereby reducing the energy consumption of the application server or UPF.

[0441] For the relevant description of the embodiments of the present application, please refer to the relevant description of the method embodiments in Figures 2 to 3, and the same technical effects can be achieved. To avoid repetition, they will not be described in detail.

[0442] The following are various optional solutions involved in the embodiments of this application. The following is an example in which the first communication device is SMF, the second communication device is ESADF, the third communication device is UE, the fourth communication device is NRF, the fifth communication device is UPF, and the sixth communication device is AF.

[0443] Solution 1: AF requests to switch the application server or DNAI based on the energy consumption of the application server

[0444] The AF obtains energy-related information corresponding to the IP addresses or DNAIs of one or more application servers from the 5G core network (5GC). Based on this information, the AF can request a change of the application server's IP address or DNAI. The reason for the change is to request a change of DNAI or application server address with lower energy consumption or higher energy efficiency.

[0445] The above process can be understood as a traffic influence process. The request can carry a new IP address (i.e., the IP address of the second application server) or a new DNAI (i.e., the second DNAI). 5GC can switch the route to the new server address requested by AF.

[0446] Solution 2: AF opens server energy-related information to 5GC

[0447] AF can open the energy-related information of the application server to 5GC, so that 5GC can assist in DNS queries.

[0448] For example, AF sends energy-related information of multiple application servers under a DNAI to 5GC. 5GC can prioritize these application servers and then send them to the terminal, allowing the terminal to give priority to access servers with lower energy consumption.

[0449] Solution 3: AF provides energy-related information of the application server or DNAI to 5GC and assists in DNS query

[0450] After AF provides energy-related information of an application server under a certain DNAI (i.e., the second DNAI) to 5GC, 5GC can preferentially forward the DNS query request to the DNS server under this DNAI so that the DNS server can resolve the application server with lower energy consumption.

[0451] Option 4:

[0452] AF can subscribe to the energy consumption information corresponding to each DNAI or each application server IP address from 5GC.

[0453] When AF determines that the energy consumption of accessing application server 1 is high and the energy consumption of accessing application server 2 is low, AF can trigger the traffic influence process and request 5GC to switch the route of one or more terminals accessing application server 1 to application server 2 to reduce energy consumption.

[0454] Option 5:

[0455] In the Traffic Influence, the AF can add an indication to instruct the 5GC to select a UPF with lower energy consumption. Here, a UPF with lower energy consumption can be understood as a UPF with lower power consumption itself or a UPF with lower energy consumption required to forward a unit of data flow.

[0456] When a third party wishes to reduce energy consumption, the AF can send this indication to the 5GC. After receiving this indication, the SMF can perform a UPF query, sending a UPF query request to the NRF or other 5GC network elements. This UPF query request can indicate the address of a UPF with lower energy consumption. This query request may result in multiple UPFs, and the SMF can obtain the energy consumption information of each UPF from other 5GC network elements to ultimately determine the UPF.

[0457] Option 6:

[0458] When using the EASDF mechanism in the related technology, after querying the address of at least one application server from the DNS server, SMF or EASDF can request the 5GC network element to obtain energy-related information corresponding to accessing each application server address. SMF or EASDF can set the priority corresponding to the application server address with lower energy consumption (i.e., the address of the first application server) to be higher, so that the terminal can establish an IP connection with this address first.

[0459] Option 7:

[0460] After SMF receives the DNS query request sent by EASDF, SMF needs to determine to which DNS server to send the DNS query request.

[0461] SMF can send the DNS query request to the DNS server under the first DNAI according to the energy consumption of each DNAI, in order to obtain the IP address of an application server. Since the IP address of the application server is located under the first DNAI, the energy consumption of accessing the application server is low.

[0462] Alternatively, the SMF may directly specify an application server address with lower energy consumption (ie, the address of the first application server) for the terminal. After the terminal uses the address of the first application server to establish a service request, the energy consumption of the user plane is lower.

[0463] In addition, there is another method that, when there are multiple candidate DNAIs, the SMF can select the first DNAI based on energy-related information of the multiple DNAIs.

[0464] Solution 8: Upper limit constraint on maximum energy consumption

[0465] The AF provides the minimum allowed EE or maximum allowed EC to the PCF and SMF. The SMF selects a user plane whose energy consumption does not exceed the maximum allowed EC based on the maximum allowed EE or minimum allowed EC.

[0466] Solution 9: Trigger the terminal to re-query the server

[0467] When the energy consumption of the server currently accessed by the terminal is not optimal, the SMF can send an indication message to the terminal, and the terminal initiates a DNS query request to reselect a new application server with lower energy consumption.

[0468] In order to better understand the embodiments of the present application, several specific embodiments are provided below.

[0469] Example 1: AF opens energy-related information to 5GC Network Function (NF)

[0470] As shown in Figure 5, the following steps are included:

[0471] Step 1: The AF sends energy-related information to the 5GC NF. The energy-related information includes at least one of the following:

[0472] Energy consumption of at least one application server, such as the load or energy consumption (e.g., power consumption) of the application server. AF can also provide the load or energy consumption of the application server in different time periods;

[0473] The energy consumption of at least one DNAI, that is, the energy consumption corresponding to the application server that can be resolved by the DNS server.

[0474] Step 2: The 5GC NF sends a response message to indicate the successful reception of the energy-related information or to indicate the failure to successfully receive the energy-related information.

[0475] Example 1 is used to demonstrate that a core network element obtains energy-related information corresponding to an application server or DNAI from the AF side.

[0476] Example 2: AF or SMF subscribes to energy-related information from 5GC NF

[0477] As shown in Figure 6, the following steps are included:

[0478] Step 1: The AF sends a subscription request to obtain energy-related information. The request carries at least one of the following:

[0479] The IP address of at least one application server; that is, a request to subscribe to energy-related information of at least one application server, or a request to subscribe to energy-related information required to access the at least one application server (energy consumption of each data packet transmitted by the UPF)

[0480] The IP address or ID of at least one UPF; that is, requesting to subscribe to energy-related information of the user plane corresponding to the IP address or ID of at least one UPF;

[0481] At least one DNAI; that is, requesting to subscribe to energy-related information corresponding to at least one DNAI, or requesting to subscribe to all energy-related information required for transmitting data packets through the user plane of the DNAI;

[0482] Energy credit limit: that is, request to subscribe to the energy credit limit of each AF or application server.

[0483] Step 2: The 5GC NF sends energy-related information to the AF. The energy-related information includes at least one of the following:

[0484] Energy consumption corresponding to the IP address of at least one application server;

[0485] Energy consumption corresponding to at least one DNAI.

[0486] The SMF may determine the DNAI (ie, the first DNAI) or the IP address of the application server (ie, the IP address of the first application server) to be switched to based on the energy-related information.

[0487] The IP address of the DNAI or application server to which you are switching meets the following conditions:

[0488] The energy consumption of the DNAI or the IP address of the application server is the lowest among the energy consumption corresponding to the at least one DNAI, or the energy consumption corresponding to the IP address of the at least one application server is the lowest;

[0489] The energy efficiency of the DNAI or the IP address of the application server is the highest among the energy efficiencies corresponding to the at least one DNAI, or the highest among the energy efficiencies corresponding to the IP address of the at least one application server.

[0490] Example 3: AF traffic influence

[0491] As shown in Figure 7, the following steps are included:

[0492] Step 1: The AF may generate an AF request based on the following conditions. This request may be used to request redirection of the application server to the address of an application server with low energy consumption or high energy efficiency. Low energy consumption includes both low energy consumption of the application server itself and low energy consumption required by the user plane to send data packets to the server. The understanding of energy efficiency is the same as above. The request may be used to indicate the maximum allowed EC or minimum allowed EE. The request may include indication information indicating the selection of a user plane or application server with lower energy consumption.

[0493] Step 2: The AF sends a request to the NEF, where the request includes at least one of the following parameters:

[0494] an application server address (i.e., the address of the second application server), where the application server corresponding to the application server address has low energy consumption, or the energy consumption of a user plane required to transmit data to the application server is low;

[0495] DNAI (i.e., the second DNAI), the energy consumption required for data transmission corresponding to this DNAI is low;

[0496] Maximum allowed EC;

[0497] Minimum allowed EE;

[0498] Instructs 5GC to select a user plane or application server with lower energy consumption.

[0499] NEF can send the above information to PCF, and PCF generates policy and charging control (PCC) rules based on the above information and sends them to SMF.

[0500] Step 5: The SMF receives the notification from the PCF, obtains the PCC rule, which includes at least one of the above parameters, and performs at least one of the following:

[0501] Upon receiving the indication information, the SMF selects the UPF with lower energy consumption when performing user plane reselection; for example, a query request Nnrf_NFDiscovery_Request may be sent to the NRF, the query request carrying the indication information, and based on the indication information, the NRF provides the address or ID of the UPF through Nnrf_NFDiscovery_Response, and the UPF has lower energy consumption; or, a query request Nnrf_NFDiscovery_Request may be sent to the NRF, and the NRF provides the identifier or address of at least one UPF and the energy-related information of the UPF through Nnrf_NFDiscovery_Response. The SMF selects the UPF with lower energy consumption or the UPF with higher energy efficiency based on the energy-related information of the UPF; or, based on the energy consumption of the UPF provided by other 5GCs, the UPF with lower energy consumption may be selected;

[0502] When receiving the Maximum allowed EC or Minimum allowed EE, the SMF selects the UPF based on the fact that the energy consumption of the user plane cannot exceed the Maximum allowed EC, or the energy efficiency of the user plane cannot be lower than the Minimum allowed EE.

[0503] For example, a query request Nnrf_NFDiscovery_Request can be sent to the NRF, and the query request carries the Maximum allowed EC or Minimum allowed EE. Based on this information, the NRF provides the address or ID of the UPF through Nnrf_NFDiscovery_Response, and the energy-related information of the UPF meets the Maximum allowed EC or Minimum allowed EE (for example, the energy consumption of the UPF does not exceed the Maximum allowed EC or the energy efficiency of the UPF is not lower than the Minimum allowed EE); or, a query request Nnrf_NFDiscovery_Request is sent to the NRF, and the NRF provides at least one UPF identifier or address and the energy-related information of the UPF through Nnrf_NFDiscovery_Response. The SMF selects a UPF with lower energy consumption or higher energy efficiency based on the energy-related information of the UPF (for example, the SMF compares the energy-related information of the UPF with the Maximum allowed EC or the Minimum allowed EE. The SMF determines the UPF based on the principle that the energy consumption of the UPF does not exceed the Maximum allowed EC or the energy efficiency of the UPF is not lower than the Minimum allowed EE). Alternatively, the SMF may select a UPF with lower energy consumption based on the energy consumption of UPFs provided by other 5GCs.

[0504] SMF selects the user plane and establishes a user plane connection to the new application server address (IP routing configuration);

[0505] SMF instructs UPF to perform an IP address replacement operation, replacing the source application server IP address with the application server IP address included in the AF request. The energy consumption corresponding to this address is low, or the transmission energy consumption is low (or the energy efficiency is high).

[0506] Example 4: DNS query process

[0507] As shown in Figure 8, the following steps are included:

[0508] Step 1: The terminal triggers a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session establishment request to the SMF. The PDU session establishment request may include terminal capability information, indicating that the terminal has energy-saving capabilities or supports the use of green energy-saving services. Alternatively, the terminal capability information may be carried in an uplink NAS message.

[0509] SMF obtains the terminal contract information from UDM, where the terminal contract information indicates that the terminal can use the green energy-saving service provided by the network side, or provide low energy consumption for the terminal, or support energy-saving services for the terminal.

[0510] If the UE reports the capability, or the terminal subscription information indicates that the energy-saving service can be used, then in step 10, an application server is considered for the terminal.

[0511] Step 10: SMF receives the FQDN in the DNS query request. SMF generates and sends DNS processing rules to EASDF based on the energy-related information of the application server or the energy-related information of each DNAI (for example, OAM provides this information).

[0512] Exemplarily, the DNS processing rule is used to instruct EASDF to send the DNS query request to a designated DNS server, which is located under the target DNAI. The application server resolved by the DNS server has low energy consumption or high energy efficiency (the application server itself has low energy consumption, or the energy consumption of forwarding data to the application server is low).

[0513] Exemplarily, the DNS processing rule is used to instruct the EASDF to send the DNS query request to a designated DNS server, which is capable of resolving the IP address of an application server with low energy consumption.

[0514] Exemplarily, the DNS processing rule is used to instruct the EASDF to directly send a DNS response. Specifically, the SMF sends the address of an application server to the EASDF, which has low energy consumption, or the energy consumption of accessing the application server is low, or the application server has high energy efficiency. Other 5GC NFs may provide a list of low-energy application server addresses corresponding to the FQDN in the DNS query request.

[0515] Step 12: EASDF sends a DNS query request to the indicated DNS server according to the instruction of SMF.

[0516] Step 19: If the SMF instructs to send a DNS response directly, the EASDF directly sends a DNS response to the UE. The response carries the IP address of the application server. The application server corresponding to the address is an application server with lower energy consumption.

[0517] Example 5: AF provides energy-related information

[0518] AF provides energy-related information corresponding to each FQDN under each DNAI, which is used to indicate the FQDN that the DNS server under the DNAI can resolve and the energy consumption information or energy efficiency information of the corresponding server. The information provided by AF can be seen in Table 1.

[0519] Table 1

[0520] The AF provides energy-related information for the SMF to generate a DNS processing rule for the EASDF, where the rule is used to instruct the DNS query (including the first FQDN) to be sent to the first DNS server. Alternatively, the rule is used to generate a DNS response, which is sent to the terminal, and the DNS response includes the address of the first application server.

[0521] The device communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application can be executed by a device communication apparatus. In the embodiment of the present application, the device communication apparatus provided in the embodiment of the present application is described by taking the device communication apparatus executing the device communication method as an example.

[0522] Referring to FIG9 , an embodiment of the present application further provides a device communication apparatus. As shown in FIG9 , the device communication apparatus 910 includes:

[0523] An acquiring unit 911 is configured to acquire first information;

[0524] The processing unit 912 is configured to perform a target operation according to the first information, where the target operation includes at least one of the following:

[0525] Determine a first data network access identifier DNAI according to the energy-related information;

[0526] determining a first domain name system DNS server based on the energy related information;

[0527] determining a first application server based on the energy-related information;

[0528] Determine a first user plane function UPF according to the energy related information;

[0529] determining a priority of at least one application server based on the energy-related information;

[0530] Sending a first message to a second communication device according to the energy related information, where the first message is used to instruct the second communication device to update the application server;

[0531] A second message is sent to a third communication device according to the energy-related information, where the second message is used for at least one of the following: instructing the third communication device to send a DNS query request, and instructing the third communication device to generate a DNS response.

[0532] Optionally, the first information includes at least one of the following:

[0533] Energy-related information of one or more DNAIs;

[0534] energy-related information of one or more application servers;

[0535] energy-related information of one or more DNS servers;

[0536] Energy-related information of one or more UPFs;

[0537] One or more fully qualified domain names (FQDNs) for energy-related information;

[0538] First FQDN;

[0539] Second DNAI;

[0540] The address of the second application server;

[0541] the address or identifier of the second UPF;

[0542] User plane energy threshold.

[0543] Optionally, the first information further includes at least one of the following:

[0544] The addresses of the application servers associated with the one or more DNAIs;

[0545] The addresses of the one or more DNS servers associated with the DNAI;

[0546] The address or identifier of the UPF associated with the one or more DNAIs;

[0547] The one or more FQDNs associated with the DNAI;

[0548] DNAIs associated with the one or more application servers;

[0549] DNAIs associated with the one or more DNS servers;

[0550] DNAI associated with the one or more UPFs;

[0551] DNAI associated with the one or more FQDNs;

[0552] The address of the application server associated with the one or more FQDNs;

[0553] The address of the DNS server associated with the one or more FQDNs;

[0554] The FQDN associated with the one or more application servers;

[0555] The FQDN associated with the one or more DNS servers.

[0556] Optionally, the target operation further includes at least one of the following:

[0557] Determining, according to the first DNAI, an application server associated with the first DNAI;

[0558] Determining, according to the first DNAI, a DNS server associated with the first DNAI;

[0559] Determining, based on the first DNAI, a UPF associated with the first DNAI;

[0560] Determining, according to the first application server, a DNAI associated with the first application server;

[0561] Determining, according to the first DNS server, a DNAI associated with the first DNS server;

[0562] Determining a DNAI associated with the first UPF according to the first UPF;

[0563] Determining a DNAI associated with the first FQDN based on the first FQDN;

[0564] Determining, based on the first FQDN, an application server associated with the first FQDN;

[0565] Determine, according to the first FQDN, a DNS server associated with the first FQDN.

[0566] Optionally, the energy-related information includes at least one of energy consumption information and energy efficiency information.

[0567] Optionally, the user plane energy threshold includes at least one of the following:

[0568] Maximum allowed user plane energy consumption value;

[0569] The minimum allowed user plane energy efficiency value.

[0570] Optionally, the one or more DNAIs include the first DNAI;

[0571] Wherein, the first DNAI is the DNAI with the lowest energy consumption among the one or more DNAIs; or

[0572] The first DNAI is the DNAI with the highest energy efficiency among the one or more DNAIs.

[0573] Optionally, the one or more application servers include the first application server;

[0574] Wherein, the first application server is the application server with the lowest energy consumption among the one or more application servers; or

[0575] The first application server is the application server with the highest energy efficiency among the one or more application servers; or

[0576] The first application server is an application server associated with the first DNAI; or

[0577] The first application server is the application server associated with the first FQDN.

[0578] Optionally, the one or more DNS servers include the first DNS server;

[0579] The first DNS server is the DNS server with the lowest energy consumption among the one or more DNS servers; or

[0580] The first DNS server is the DNS server with the highest energy efficiency among the one or more DNS servers; or

[0581] The first DNS server is the DNS server associated with the first DNAI; or

[0582] The first DNS server is the DNS server associated with the first FQDN.

[0583] Optionally, the one or more UPFs include the first UPF;

[0584] Wherein, the first UPF is the UPF with the lowest energy consumption among the one or more UPFs; or

[0585] The first UPF is the UPF with the highest energy efficiency among the one or more UPFs; or

[0586] The first UPF is the UPF associated with the first DNAI; or

[0587] The first UPF is the UPF associated with the second DNAI; or

[0588] The first UPF is the UPF associated with the first application server; or

[0589] The first UPF is the UPF associated with the second application server; or

[0590] The first UPF is the UPF associated with the first DNS server; or

[0591] The first UPF is a UPF whose energy-related information meets the user plane energy threshold.

[0592] Optionally, the device communication means 910 further includes:

[0593] A first sending unit, configured to send a first request to a fourth communication device, where the first request is used to request the fourth communication device to search for a UPF;

[0594] The first request includes at least one of the following:

[0595] the first DNAI;

[0596] the second DNAI;

[0597] the address of the first application server;

[0598] the address of the second application server;

[0599] The user plane energy threshold.

[0600] Optionally, the first message includes at least one of the following:

[0601] the address of the first application server;

[0602] The address of the second application server.

[0603] Optionally, when the second message is used to instruct the third communication device to send a DNS query request, the second message includes at least one of the following:

[0604] The DNS server address corresponding to the first DNAI;

[0605] The DNS server address corresponding to the second DNAI;

[0606] the address of the first DNS server;

[0607] the address of the first application server;

[0608] The address of the second application server.

[0609] Optionally, when the second message is used to instruct the third communications device to generate a DNS response, the second message includes at least one of the following:

[0610] the address of the first application server;

[0611] The address of the second application server.

[0612] In some embodiments, the device communication means 910 further includes:

[0613] The second sending unit is configured to send second information to the third communication device, where the second information includes priority information of the at least one application server.

[0614] Optionally, determining the priority of at least one application server according to the energy-related information includes at least one of the following:

[0615] determining a priority of the at least one application server according to an order of energy consumption of the at least one application server from low to high;

[0616] The priority of the at least one application server is determined in descending order of energy efficiency of the at least one application server.

[0617] Optionally, the device communication means 910 further includes:

[0618] The third sending unit is configured to send a second request to the fifth communication device, where the second request is used to request obtaining energy-related information of the UPF, and the second request includes at least one of the following:

[0619] The addresses of one or more application servers;

[0620] the address or identification of one or more UPFs;

[0621] One or more DNAIs.

[0622] In summary, in the embodiments of the present application, it helps to select an application server with lower energy consumption or higher energy efficiency, or it helps to route to the selected application server with lower energy consumption or higher energy efficiency, thereby reducing the energy consumption of the application server or UPF.

[0623] The device communication device in the embodiments of the present application can be an electronic device, such as an electronic device with an operating system, or a component in an electronic device, such as an integrated circuit or chip. The electronic device can be a terminal, or it can be other devices other than a terminal. For example, the terminal can include but is not limited to the types of terminal 11 listed above, and other devices can be servers, network attached storage (NAS), etc., which are not specifically limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0624] The device communication apparatus provided in the embodiment of the present application can implement each process implemented in the method embodiment of Figure 2 and achieve the same technical effect. To avoid repetition, it will not be repeated here.

[0625] Referring to FIG10 , an embodiment of the present application further provides a device communication apparatus. As shown in FIG10 , the device communication apparatus 920 includes:

[0626] An acquiring unit 921 is configured to acquire third information;

[0627] A first sending unit 922 is configured to send fourth information to the first communication device according to the third information;

[0628] The third information includes at least one of the following:

[0629] energy-related information of one or more data network access identifiers DNAIs;

[0630] energy-related information of one or more application servers;

[0631] Energy related information of one or more user plane functions (UPFs);

[0632] The fourth information includes at least one of the following:

[0633] Energy-related information of one or more DNAIs;

[0634] energy-related information of one or more application servers;

[0635] Energy-related information of one or more UPFs;

[0636] a second DNAI, the one or more DNAIs including the second DNAI;

[0637] an address of a second application server, the one or more application servers including the second application server;

[0638] User plane energy threshold.

[0639] Optionally, the fourth information further includes at least one of the following:

[0640] The addresses of the application servers associated with the one or more DNAIs;

[0641] The addresses of the one or more DNS servers associated with the DNAI;

[0642] The address or identifier of the UPF associated with the one or more DNAIs;

[0643] The one or more FQDNs associated with the DNAI;

[0644] DNAIs associated with the one or more application servers;

[0645] DNAIs associated with the one or more DNS servers;

[0646] DNAI associated with the one or more UPFs;

[0647] DNAI associated with the one or more FQDNs;

[0648] The address of the application server associated with the one or more FQDNs;

[0649] The address of the DNS server associated with the one or more FQDNs;

[0650] The FQDN associated with the one or more application servers;

[0651] The FQDN associated with the one or more DNS servers.

[0652] Optionally, the energy-related information includes at least one of energy consumption information and energy efficiency information.

[0653] Optionally, the user plane energy threshold includes at least one of the following:

[0654] Maximum allowed user plane energy consumption value;

[0655] The minimum allowed user plane energy efficiency value.

[0656] Optionally, the second DNAI is the DNAI with the lowest energy consumption among the one or more DNAIs; or

[0657] The second DNAI is the DNAI with the highest energy efficiency among the one or more DNAIs.

[0658] Optionally, the second application server is an application server with the lowest energy consumption among the one or more application servers; or

[0659] The second application server is the application server with the highest energy efficiency among the one or more application servers; or

[0660] The second application server is an application server associated with the second DNAI.

[0661] Optionally, the device communication means 920 further includes:

[0662] A second sending unit is configured to send a third request to the fifth communication device, where the third request is used to request obtaining energy-related information of the UPF;

[0663] The third request includes at least one of the following: the address of at least one application server; the address or identifier of at least one UPF; and at least one DNAI.

[0664] In summary, in the embodiments of the present application, it helps to select an application server with lower energy consumption or higher energy efficiency, or it helps to route to the selected application server with lower energy consumption or higher energy efficiency, thereby reducing the energy consumption of the application server or UPF.

[0665] The device communication device in the embodiments of the present application can be an electronic device, such as an electronic device with an operating system, or a component in an electronic device, such as an integrated circuit or chip. The electronic device can be a terminal, or it can be other devices other than a terminal. For example, the terminal can include but is not limited to the types of terminal 11 listed above, and other devices can be servers, network attached storage (NAS), etc., which are not specifically limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0666] The device communication apparatus provided in the embodiment of the present application can implement each process implemented in the method embodiment of Figure 3 and achieve the same technical effect. To avoid repetition, it will not be repeated here.

[0667] Referring to FIG11 , an embodiment of the present application further provides a device communication apparatus. As shown in FIG11 , the device communication apparatus 930 includes:

[0668] The receiving unit 931 is configured to receive a second request from the first communication device, where the second request is used to request obtaining energy-related information of the UPF, and the second request includes at least one of the following:

[0669] The addresses of one or more application servers;

[0670] The address or identification of one or more user plane functions (UPFs);

[0671] One or more data network access identifiers DNAI.

[0672] Optionally, the device communication means 930 further includes:

[0673] A sending unit is used to send energy-related information of one or more UPFs to the first communication device based on the second request.

[0674] In summary, in the embodiments of the present application, it helps to select an application server with lower energy consumption or higher energy efficiency, or it helps to route to the selected application server with lower energy consumption or higher energy efficiency, thereby reducing the energy consumption of the application server or UPF.

[0675] The device communication device in the embodiments of the present application can be an electronic device, such as an electronic device with an operating system, or a component in an electronic device, such as an integrated circuit or chip. The electronic device can be a terminal, or it can be other devices other than a terminal. For example, the terminal can include but is not limited to the types of terminal 11 listed above, and other devices can be servers, network attached storage (NAS), etc., which are not specifically limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0676] The device communication apparatus provided in the embodiment of the present application can implement each process implemented in the method embodiment of Figure 4 and achieve the same technical effect. To avoid repetition, it will not be repeated here.

[0677] As shown in Figure 12, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication device 900, including a processor 901 and a memory 902, wherein the memory 902 stores a program or instruction that can be run on the processor 901. For example, when the communication device 900 is a first communication device, the program or instruction is executed by the processor 901 to implement the various steps of the above-mentioned first communication device side method embodiment, and can achieve the same technical effect. When the communication device 900 is a first communication device, the program or instruction is executed by the processor 901 to implement the various steps of the above-mentioned second communication device side method embodiment, and can achieve the same technical effect. When the communication device 900 is a third communication device, the program or instruction is executed by the processor 901 to implement the various steps of the above-mentioned third communication device side method embodiment, and can achieve the same technical effect. To avoid repetition, it will not be repeated here.

[0678] The present application also provides a network-side device, including a processor and a communication interface, wherein the communication interface is coupled to the processor, and the processor is configured to execute a program or instruction to implement the steps of the method embodiments shown in Figures 2 to 4. This network-side device embodiment corresponds to the above-mentioned method embodiment, and each implementation process and implementation method of the above-mentioned method embodiment can be applied to this network-side device embodiment and can achieve the same technical effects.

[0679] Specifically, the embodiment of the present application further provides a network-side device. As shown in FIG13 , the network-side device 1300 includes a processor 1301, a network interface 1302, and a memory 1303. The network interface 1302 is, for example, a common public radio interface (CPRI).

[0680] Specifically, the network side device 1300 of the embodiment of the present application also includes: instructions or programs stored in the memory 1303 and executable on the processor 1301. The processor 1301 calls the instructions or programs in the memory 1303 to execute the methods executed by the modules shown in Figures 9 to 11 and achieve the same technical effect. To avoid repetition, they will not be elaborated here.

[0681] An embodiment of the present application also provides a readable storage medium, on which a program or instruction is stored. When the program or instruction is executed by a processor, the various processes of the above-mentioned device communication method embodiment are implemented and the same technical effect can be achieved. To avoid repetition, it will not be repeated here.

[0682] The processor is the processor in the terminal described in the above embodiment. The readable storage medium includes a computer-readable storage medium, such as a computer read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk, or an optical disk. In some examples, the readable storage medium may be a non-transitory readable storage medium.

[0683] An embodiment of the present application further provides a chip, which includes a processor and a communication interface, the communication interface and the processor are coupled, and the processor is used to run programs or instructions to implement the various processes of the above-mentioned device communication method embodiment, and can achieve the same technical effect. To avoid repetition, it will not be repeated here.

[0684] It should be understood that the chip mentioned in the embodiments of the present application can also be called a system-level chip, a system chip, a chip system or a system-on-chip chip, etc.

[0685] An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program / program product, which is stored in a storage medium. The computer program / program product is executed by at least one processor to implement the various processes of the above-mentioned device communication method embodiment and can achieve the same technical effect. To avoid repetition, it will not be repeated here.

[0686] An embodiment of the present application further provides a communication system, including: a first communication device and a second communication device, or a first communication device and a third communication device, wherein the first communication device can be used to execute the steps of the method embodiment shown in Figure 2.

[0687] Optionally, the communication system further includes: a sixth communication device, and the sixth communication device can be used to execute the steps of the method embodiment shown in Figure 3.

[0688] Optionally, the communication system further includes: a fifth communication device, and the fifth communication device can be used to execute the steps of the method embodiment shown in Figure 4.

[0689] It should be noted that, in this article, the terms "comprise", "include" or any other variants thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, so that a process, method, article or device comprising a series of elements includes not only those elements, but also other elements not explicitly listed, or also includes elements inherent to such process, method, article or device. In the absence of further restrictions, an element defined by the sentence "comprises a ..." does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article or device comprising the element. In addition, it should be pointed out that the scope of the methods and devices in the embodiments of the present application is not limited to performing functions in the order shown or discussed, and may also include performing functions in a substantially simultaneous manner or in the opposite order according to the functions involved. For example, the described method may be performed in an order different from that described, and various steps may also be added, omitted or combined. In addition, the features described with reference to certain examples may be combined in other examples.

[0690] Through the description of the above embodiments, those skilled in the art can clearly understand that the above-mentioned embodiment methods can be implemented by means of a computer software product plus a necessary general-purpose hardware platform, or of course, by hardware. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium (such as ROM, RAM, magnetic disk, optical disk, etc.) and includes a number of instructions for enabling a terminal or network-side device to execute the methods described in each embodiment of the present application.

[0691] The embodiments of the present application are described above in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, but the present application is not limited to the above-mentioned specific implementation methods. The above-mentioned specific implementation methods are merely illustrative and not restrictive. Under the guidance of this application, ordinary technicians in this field can also make many forms of implementation methods without departing from the purpose of this application and the scope of protection of the claims. These implementation methods are all within the protection of this application.

Claims

1. A device communication method, comprising: The first communication device obtains first information; The first communication device performs a target operation according to the first information, where the target operation includes at least one of the following: Determine a first data network access identifier DNAI according to the energy-related information; determining a first domain name system DNS server based on the energy related information; determining a first application server based on the energy-related information; Determine a first user plane function UPF according to the energy related information; determining a priority of at least one application server based on the energy-related information; Sending a first message to a second communication device according to the energy related information, where the first message is used to instruct the second communication device to update the application server; A second message is sent to a third communication device according to the energy-related information, where the second message is used for at least one of the following: instructing the third communication device to send a DNS query request, and instructing the third communication device to generate a DNS response.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein The first information includes at least one of the following: Energy-related information of one or more DNAIs; energy-related information of one or more application servers; energy-related information of one or more DNS servers; Energy-related information of one or more UPFs; One or more fully qualified domain names (FQDNs) for energy-related information; First FQDN; Second DNAI; The address of the second application server; The address of the secondary DNS server; the address or identifier of the second UPF; User plane energy threshold.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein: The first information also includes at least one of the following: The addresses of the application servers associated with the one or more DNAIs; The addresses of the one or more DNS servers associated with the DNAI; The address or identifier of the UPF associated with the one or more DNAIs; The one or more FQDNs associated with the DNAI; DNAIs associated with the one or more application servers; DNAIs associated with the one or more DNS servers; DNAI associated with the one or more UPFs; DNAI associated with the one or more FQDNs; The address of the application server associated with the one or more FQDNs; The address of the DNS server associated with the one or more FQDNs; The FQDN associated with the one or more application servers; The FQDN associated with the one or more DNS servers.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein: The target operation also includes at least one of the following: Determining, according to the first DNAI, an application server associated with the first DNAI; Determining, according to the first DNAI, a DNS server associated with the first DNAI; Determining, based on the first DNAI, a UPF associated with the first DNAI; Determining, according to the first application server, a DNAI associated with the first application server; Determining, according to the first DNS server, a DNAI associated with the first DNS server; Determining a DNAI associated with the first UPF according to the first UPF; Determining a DNAI associated with the first FQDN based on the first FQDN; Determining, based on the first FQDN, an application server associated with the first FQDN; Determine, according to the first FQDN, a DNS server associated with the first FQDN.

5. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: The energy-related information includes at least one of energy consumption information and energy efficiency information.

6. The method according to claim 2, wherein: The user plane energy threshold includes at least one of the following: Maximum allowed user plane energy consumption value; The minimum allowed user plane energy efficiency value.

7. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 6, wherein said one or more DNAIs including said first DNAI; Among them, the first DNAI is the DNAI with the lowest energy consumption among the one or more DNAIs; or, the first DNAI is the DNAI with the highest energy efficiency among the one or more DNAIs.

8. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 7, wherein The one or more application servers include the first application server; Wherein, the first application server is the application server with the lowest energy consumption among the one or more application servers; or The first application server is the application server with the highest energy efficiency among the one or more application servers; or The first application server is an application server associated with the first DNAI; or The first application server is the application server associated with the first FQDN.

9. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 7, wherein The one or more DNS servers include the first DNS server; The first DNS server is the DNS server with the lowest energy consumption among the one or more DNS servers; or The first DNS server is the DNS server with the highest energy efficiency among the one or more DNS servers; or The first DNS server is the DNS server associated with the first DNAI; or The first DNS server is the DNS server associated with the first FQDN.

10. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 9, wherein the one or more UPFs including the first UPF; Wherein, the first UPF is the UPF with the lowest energy consumption among the one or more UPFs; or The first UPF is the UPF with the highest energy efficiency among the one or more UPFs; or The first UPF is the UPF associated with the first DNAI; or The first UPF is the UPF associated with the second DNAI; or The first UPF is the UPF associated with the first application server; or The first UPF is the UPF associated with the second application server; or The first UPF is the UPF associated with the first DNS server; or The first UPF is the UPF associated with the second DNS server; or The first UPF is a UPF whose energy-related information meets the user plane energy threshold.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, further comprising: The first communication device sends a first request to the fourth communication device, where the first request is used to request the fourth communication device to search for a UPF; The first request includes at least one of the following: the first DNAI; the second DNAI; the address of the first application server; the address of the second application server; The user plane energy threshold.

12. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein The first message includes at least one of the following: the address of the first application server; the address of the second application server; or, In the case where the second message is used to instruct the third communication device to send a DNS query request, the second message includes at least one of the following: The DNS server address corresponding to the first DNAI; The DNS server address corresponding to the second DNAI; the address of the first DNS server; the address of the second DNS server; the address of the first application server; the address of the second application server; or, In the case where the second message is used to instruct the third communications device to generate a DNS response, the second message includes at least one of the following: the address of the first application server; The address of the second application server.

13. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 12, further comprising: The first communication device sends second information to the third communication device, where the second information includes priority information of the at least one application server.

14. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein Determining the priority of at least one application server according to the energy-related information includes at least one of the following: determining a priority of the at least one application server according to an order of energy consumption of the at least one application server from low to high; The priority of the at least one application server is determined in descending order of energy efficiency of the at least one application server.

15. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 14, wherein Before the first communication device acquires the first information, the method further includes: The first communication device sends a second request to the fifth communication device, where the second request is used to request obtaining energy-related information of the UPF, and the second request includes at least one of the following: The addresses of one or more application servers; the address or identification of one or more UPFs; One or more DNAIs.

16. A device communication method, comprising: The sixth communication device obtains the third information; The sixth communication device sends fourth information to the first communication device according to the third information; The third information includes at least one of the following: energy-related information of one or more data network access identifiers DNAIs; energy-related information of one or more application servers; Energy related information of one or more user plane functions (UPFs); The fourth information includes at least one of the following: Energy-related information of one or more DNAIs; energy-related information of one or more application servers; Energy-related information of one or more UPFs; a second DNAI, the one or more DNAIs including the second DNAI; an address of a second application server, the one or more application servers including the second application server; User plane energy threshold.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein The energy-related information includes at least one of energy consumption information and energy efficiency information.

18. The method according to claim 16, wherein The user plane energy threshold includes at least one of the following: Maximum allowed user plane energy consumption value; The minimum allowed user plane energy efficiency value.

19. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 18, wherein The second DNAI is the DNAI with the lowest energy consumption among the one or more DNAIs; or The second DNAI is the DNAI with the highest energy efficiency among the one or more DNAIs.

20. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 19, wherein The second application server is the application server with the lowest energy consumption among the one or more application servers; or The second application server is the application server with the highest energy efficiency among the one or more application servers; or The second application server is an application server associated with the second DNAI.

21. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 20, further comprising: The sixth communication device sends a third request to the fifth communication device, where the third request is used to request obtaining energy-related information of the UPF; The third request includes at least one of the following: The address of at least one application server; the address or identification of at least one UPF; At least one DNAI.

22. A device communication method, comprising: The fifth communication device receives a second request from the first communication device, where the second request is used to request obtaining energy-related information of the UPF, and the second request includes at least one of the following: The addresses of one or more application servers; The address or identification of one or more user plane functions (UPFs); One or more data network access identifiers DNAI.

23. The method according to claim 22, further comprising: The fifth communication device sends energy-related information of one or more UPFs to the first communication device based on the second request.

24. A device communication apparatus, the apparatus comprising: an acquiring unit, configured to acquire first information; a processing unit, configured to perform a target operation according to the first information, where the target operation includes at least one of the following: Determine a first data network access identifier DNAI according to the energy-related information; determining a first domain name system DNS server based on the energy related information; determining a first application server based on the energy-related information; Determine a first user plane function UPF according to the energy related information; determining a priority of at least one application server based on the energy-related information; Sending a first message to a second communication device according to the energy related information, where the first message is used to instruct the second communication device to update the application server; A second message is sent to a third communication device according to the energy-related information, where the second message is used for at least one of the following: instructing the third communication device to send a DNS query request, and instructing the third communication device to generate a DNS response.

25. The apparatus according to claim 24, wherein The first information includes at least one of the following: Energy-related information of one or more DNAIs; energy-related information of one or more application servers; energy-related information of one or more DNS servers; Energy-related information of one or more UPFs; One or more fully qualified domain names (FQDNs) for energy-related information; First FQDN; Second DNAI; The address of the second application server; the address or identifier of the second UPF; User plane energy threshold.

26. The apparatus according to claim 24 or 25, further comprising: A first sending unit, configured to send a first request to a fourth communication device, where the first request is used to request the fourth communication device to search for a UPF; The first request includes at least one of the following: the first DNAI; the second DNAI; the address of the first application server; the address of the second application server; The user plane energy threshold.

27. The apparatus according to any one of claims 24 to 26, further comprising: The second sending unit is configured to send a second request to the fifth communication device, where the second request is used to request obtaining energy-related information of the UPF, and the second request includes at least one of the following: The addresses of one or more application servers; the address or identification of one or more UPFs; One or more DNAIs.

28. A device communication apparatus, the apparatus comprising: an acquiring unit, configured to acquire third information; A first sending unit, configured to send fourth information to the first communication device according to the third information; The third information includes at least one of the following: energy-related information of one or more data network access identifiers DNAIs; energy-related information of one or more application servers; Energy related information of one or more user plane functions (UPFs); The fourth information includes at least one of the following: Energy-related information of one or more DNAIs; energy-related information of one or more application servers; Energy-related information of one or more UPFs; a second DNAI, the one or more DNAIs including the second DNAI; an address of a second application server, the one or more application servers including the second application server; User plane energy threshold.

29. The apparatus according to claim 28, further comprising: A second sending unit is configured to send a third request to a fifth communication device, where the third request is used to request obtaining energy-related information of the UPF; The third request includes at least one of the following: The address of at least one application server; the address or identification of at least one UPF; At least one DNAI.

30. A device communication apparatus, the apparatus comprising: A receiving unit, configured to receive a second request from the first communication device, where the second request is used to request obtaining energy-related information of the UPF, and the second request includes at least one of the following: The addresses of one or more application servers; The address or identification of one or more user plane functions (UPFs); One or more data network access identifiers DNAI.

31. The apparatus of claim 30, further comprising: A sending unit is used to send energy-related information of one or more UPFs to the first communication device based on the second request.

32. A communication device, comprising a processor and a memory, wherein the memory stores a program or instruction that can be run on the processor, and when the program or instruction is executed by the processor, implements the steps of the device communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 15, or implements the steps of the device communication method according to any one of claims 16 to 21, or implements the steps of the device communication method according to claim 22 or 23.

33. A readable storage medium storing a program or instruction, wherein when the program or instruction is executed by a processor, the program or instruction implements the steps of the device communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 15, or implements the steps of the device communication method according to any one of claims 16 to 21, or implements the steps of the device communication method according to claim 22 or 23.

34. A computer program product comprising computer instructions, which, when executed by a processor, implement the steps of the device communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 15, or the steps of the device communication method according to any one of claims 16 to 21, or the steps of the device communication method according to claim 22 or 23.

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