Multi-access session establishment method and system

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a multi-access session establishment method and system. The method is applied to a terminal device, and comprises: initiating a first session establishment request to an AMF via 3GPP access, so that upon reception of the first session establishment request, the AMF sends to a target SMF a second session establishment request carrying a second identifier, and upon reception of the second session establishment request, the target SMF sends first access information of a multi-access session to the terminal device via 3GPP access signaling, wherein the first session establishment request comprises a first identifier, and the first identifier and the second identifier represent multi-access capabilities; and upon reception of the first access information, establishing a multi-access user plane connection on the basis of the first access information. The present embodiment implements control plane processes of other access via a 3GPP access side, thereby establishing a multi-access session via 3GPP access.

Description

A multi-access session establishment method and system

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This disclosure claims priority to Chinese patent application number 202410269191.5 filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of China on March 8, 2024, entitled “A method and system for establishing a multi-access session,” the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this disclosure. Technical Field

[0003] The present disclosure relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a method and system for establishing a multi-access session. Background Art

[0004] The 5th Generation Mobile Communication Technology Core Network (5GC) supports access to non-3GPP access networks, such as wireless local area networks (WLANs). In existing specifications, in non-3GPP access scenarios, terminal devices typically access the 5GC through the Non-3GPP Interworking Function (N3IWF) / Trusted Non-3GPP Gateway Function (TNGF).

[0005] In a multi-access network architecture, a multi-access protocol data unit (PDU) session (such as a 3GPP access session and a non-3GPP access session) requires the terminal device to establish a multi-access (MA) PDU session on two accesses respectively, with the session type being a multi-access (MA) PDU session and the PDU session identifier (Identity Document, ID) being the same, thereby establishing user plane resources on the two accesses, where information related to different accesses is sent by the corresponding access.

[0006] However, due to limitations in hardware capabilities and the commercial deployment of N3IWF / TNGF, the implementation of this architecture has been difficult to implement, thus restricting the development of multi-access sessions.

[0007] Summary of the Invention

[0008] The embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method and system for establishing a multi-access session, so as to implement a multi-access session through 3GPP.

[0009] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a first multi-access session establishment method, applied to a terminal device (User Equipment), the method comprising:

[0010] Initiate the first session establishment request to the access and mobility management function network element (Access and Mobility Management Function, AMF) through 3GPP access, so that after receiving the first session establishment request, the AMF sends a second session establishment request carrying the second identifier to the target session management function network element (Session Management Function, SMF), and after receiving the second session establishment request, the target SMF sends the first access information of the multi-access session to the terminal device through 3GPP access signaling; wherein, the first session establishment request includes the first identifier, and the first identifier and the second identifier represent the multi-access capability;

[0011] After receiving the first access information, a multi-access user plane connection is established based on the first access information.

[0012] In some optional implementations, the multiple access capability includes 3GPP access and non-3GPP access.

[0013] In some optional implementations, establishing a multi-access user plane connection based on the first access information includes:

[0014] Based on the first access information, a 3GPP user plane connection and a non-3GPP user plane connection are respectively established with a target user plane function network element (The User plane function, UPF).

[0015] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a second multi-access session establishment method, applied to an AMF, the method including:

[0016] Receiving a first session establishment request initiated by a terminal device through 3GPP access; wherein the first session establishment request includes a first identifier, and the first identifier represents a multi-access capability;

[0017] A second session establishment request carrying a second identifier is sent to the target SMF, so that after receiving the second session establishment request, the target SMF sends the first access information of the multi-access session to the terminal device through 3GPP access signaling; after receiving the first access information, the terminal device establishes a multi-access user plane connection based on the first access information; wherein, the second identifier represents the multi-access capability.

[0018] In some optional implementations, before sending the second session establishment request carrying the second identifier to the target SMF, the method further includes:

[0019] Based on the first identifier, a target SMF that supports multi-access sessions is selected from the preset SMFs.

[0020] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a third multi-access session establishment method, which is applied to a target SMF. The method includes:

[0021] Receive a second session establishment request carrying a second identifier sent by the AMF; wherein the second session establishment request is sent by the AMF after receiving a first session establishment request initiated by the terminal device through 3GPP access, and the first session establishment request carries the first identifier, and the first identifier and the second identifier represent the multi-access capability;

[0022] The first access information of the multi-access session is sent to the terminal device through 3GPP access signaling, so that the terminal device establishes a multi-access user plane connection based on the first access information after receiving the first access information.

[0023] In some optional implementations, before sending the first access information of the multi-access session to the terminal device through 3GPP access signaling, the method further includes:

[0024] Sending a session policy association instruction to a policy control function (PCF) network element, so that the PCF selects target mode information based on the session policy association instruction;

[0025] Sending first access information of the multi-access session to the terminal device through 3GPP access signaling, further comprising:

[0026] Based on the target mode information, the target mode information is sent to the terminal device via 3GPP access signaling.

[0027] In some optional implementations, the target mode information includes a steering mode supporting multipath transmission and a corresponding data mode; wherein the steering mode supporting multipath transmission is Multipath Transport Control Protocol (MPTCP) or Multipath QUIC (MPQUIC).

[0028] In some optional implementations, after receiving the second session establishment request carrying the second identifier sent by the AMF, the method further includes:

[0029] Based on the second identifier, selecting a target UPF that supports the multi-access session from a preset UPF;

[0030] Sending second access information to the target UPF;

[0031] The first access information is generated based on the second access information and the third access information; wherein the third access information is sent by the target UPF to the target SMF in response to the second access information.

[0032] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a fourth multi-access session establishment method, the method including:

[0033] The terminal device accesses through 3GPP and initiates a first session establishment request to the AMF; wherein the first session establishment request includes a first identifier, and the first identifier represents the multi-access capability;

[0034] After receiving the first session establishment request, the AMF sends a second session establishment request carrying a second identifier to the target SMF; wherein the second identifier represents the multi-access capability;

[0035] After receiving the second session establishment request, the target SMF sends the first access information of the multi-access session to the terminal device through 3GPP access signaling;

[0036] After receiving the first access information, the terminal device establishes a multi-access user plane connection based on the first access information.

[0037] In some optional implementations, the multiple access capability includes 3GPP access and non-3GPP access.

[0038] In some optional implementations, establishing a multi-access user plane connection based on the first access information includes:

[0039] Based on the first access information, a 3GPP user plane connection and a non-3GPP user plane connection are established with the target UPF respectively.

[0040] In some optional implementations, before sending the second session establishment request carrying the second identifier to the target SMF, the method further includes:

[0041] The AMF selects a target SMF that supports multi-access sessions from a preset SMF based on the first identifier.

[0042] In some optional implementations, before sending the first access information of the multi-access session to the terminal device through 3GPP access signaling, the method further includes:

[0043] The SMF sends a session policy association instruction to the PCF, so that the PCF selects target mode information based on the session policy association instruction;

[0044] Sending first access information of the multi-access session to the terminal device through 3GPP access signaling, further comprising:

[0045] Based on the target mode information, the target mode information is sent to the terminal device via 3GPP access signaling.

[0046] In some optional implementations, the target mode information includes a steering mode supporting multipath transmission and a corresponding data mode; wherein the steering mode supporting multipath transmission is MPTCP or MPQUIC.

[0047] In some optional implementations, after receiving the second session establishment request carrying the second identifier sent by the AMF, the method further includes:

[0048] The SMF selects a target UPF that supports the multi-access session from the preset UPF based on the second identifier;

[0049] Sending second access information to the target UPF;

[0050] The first access information is generated based on the second access information and the third access information; wherein the third access information is sent by the target UPF to the target SMF in response to the second access information.

[0051] In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a multi-access session establishment system, which includes an AMF, a terminal device, and a target SMF; wherein:

[0052] The terminal device is configured to initiate a first session establishment request to the AMF through 3GPP access; wherein the first session establishment request includes a first identifier, and the first identifier represents a multi-access capability;

[0053] The AMF is configured to send a second session establishment request carrying a second identifier to the target SMF after receiving the first session establishment request; wherein the second identifier represents the multi-access capability;

[0054] The target SMF is configured to send first access information of the multi-access session to the terminal device through 3GPP access signaling after receiving the second session establishment request;

[0055] The terminal device is further used to establish a multi-access user plane connection based on the first access information after receiving the first access information.

[0056] In some optional implementations, the multiple access capability includes 3GPP access and non-3GPP access.

[0057] In some optional implementation manners, the terminal device is specifically configured to:

[0058] Based on the first access information, a 3GPP user plane connection and a non-3GPP user plane connection are established with the target UPF respectively.

[0059] In some optional implementations, before sending the second session establishment request carrying the second identifier to the target SMF, the AMF is further configured to:

[0060] Based on the first identifier, a target SMF that supports multi-access sessions is selected from the preset SMFs.

[0061] In some optional implementations, before the target SMF sends the first access information of the multi-access session to the terminal device through 3GPP access signaling, it is further used to:

[0062] sending a session policy association instruction to a PCF, so that the PCF selects target mode information based on the session policy association instruction;

[0063] The SMF sends first access information of the multi-access session to the terminal device through 3GPP access signaling, further comprising:

[0064] Based on the target mode information, the target mode information is sent to the terminal device via 3GPP access signaling.

[0065] In some optional implementations, the target mode information includes a steering mode supporting multipath transmission and a corresponding data mode; wherein the steering mode supporting multipath transmission is MPTCP or MPQUIC.

[0066] In some optional implementations, after receiving the second session establishment request carrying the second identifier sent by the AMF, the target SMF is further configured to:

[0067] Based on the second identifier, selecting a target UPF that supports the multi-access session from a preset UPF;

[0068] Sending second access information to the target UPF;

[0069] The first access information is generated based on the second access information and the third access information; wherein the third access information is sent by the target UPF to the target SMF in response to the second access information.

[0070] In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a first multi-access session establishment apparatus, applied to a terminal device, the apparatus comprising:

[0071] A first request module is configured to initiate a first session establishment request to the AMF through 3GPP access, so that after receiving the first session establishment request, the AMF sends a second session establishment request carrying a second identifier to the target SMF, and after receiving the second session establishment request, the target SMF sends first access information of a multi-access session to the terminal device through 3GPP access signaling; wherein the first session establishment request includes a first identifier, and the first identifier and the second identifier represent the multi-access capability;

[0072] A channel establishing module is used to establish a multi-access user plane connection based on the first access information after receiving the first access information.

[0073] In some optional implementations, the multiple access capability includes 3GPP access and non-3GPP access.

[0074] In some optional implementations, the channel establishment module is specifically configured to:

[0075] Based on the first access information, a 3GPP user plane connection and a non-3GPP user plane connection are established with the target UPF respectively.

[0076] In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a second multi-access session establishment device, applied to an AMF, the device including:

[0077] A first receiving module is configured to receive a first session establishment request initiated by a terminal device through 3GPP access; wherein the first session establishment request includes a first identifier, and the first identifier represents a multi-access capability;

[0078] The second request module is used to send a second session establishment request carrying a second identifier to the target SMF, so that after receiving the second session establishment request, the target SMF sends the first access information of the multi-access session to the terminal device through 3GPP access signaling; after receiving the first access information, the terminal device establishes a multi-access user plane connection based on the first access information; wherein, the second identifier represents the multi-access capability.

[0079] In some optional implementations, before sending the second session establishment request carrying the second identifier to the target SMF, the second request module is further configured to:

[0080] Based on the first identifier, a target SMF that supports multi-access sessions is selected from the preset SMFs.

[0081] In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a third multi-access session establishment device, which is applied to a target SMF, and includes:

[0082] A second receiving module is configured to receive a second session establishment request carrying a second identifier sent by the AMF; wherein the second session establishment request is sent by the AMF after receiving a first session establishment request initiated by the terminal device through 3GPP access, the first session establishment request carries a first identifier, and the first identifier and the second identifier represent multi-access capabilities;

[0083] A sending module is used to send the first access information of the multi-access session to the terminal device through 3GPP access signaling, so that the terminal device establishes a multi-access user plane connection based on the first access information after receiving the first access information.

[0084] Some optional implementations further include a policy association module for:

[0085] Before the sending module sends the first access information of the multi-access session to the terminal device through the 3GPP access signaling, sending a session policy association instruction to the PCF, so that the PCF selects the target mode information based on the session policy association instruction;

[0086] The sending module sends first access information of the multi-access session to the terminal device through 3GPP access signaling, and further includes:

[0087] Based on the target mode information, the target mode information is sent to the terminal device via 3GPP access signaling.

[0088] In some optional implementations, the target mode information includes a steering mode supporting multipath transmission and a corresponding data mode; wherein the steering mode supporting multipath transmission is MPTCP or MPQUIC.

[0089] In some optional implementations, after the second receiving module receives the second session establishment request carrying the second identifier sent by the AMF, the sending module is further configured to:

[0090] Based on the second identifier, selecting a target UPF that supports the multi-access session from a preset UPF;

[0091] Sending second access information to the target UPF;

[0092] The first access information is generated based on the second access information and the third access information; wherein the third access information is sent by the target UPF to the target SMF in response to the second access information.

[0093] In the ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a terminal device, comprising at least one processor and at least one memory, wherein the memory stores a computer program, and when the program is executed by the processor, the processor executes any multi-access session establishment method described in the first aspect above.

[0094] In the tenth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides an AMF, comprising at least one processor and at least one memory, wherein the memory stores a computer program, and when the program is executed by the processor, the processor executes the multi-access session establishment method described in any one of the above-mentioned second aspects.

[0095] In the eleventh aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides an SMF, comprising at least one processor and at least one memory, wherein the memory stores a computer program, and when the program is executed by the processor, the processor executes any multi-access session establishment method described in the third aspect above.

[0096] In the twelfth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores a computer program executable by a processor. When the program runs on the processor, the processor executes the multi-access session establishment method described in any one of the first, second or third aspects above.

[0097] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, a terminal device initiates a PDU session establishment process representing multiple accesses to the network through 3GPP access, and the AMF selects a target SMF that supports the session function; the target SMF sends access-related control information of the multiple access session through 3GPP access signaling between the target SMF and the terminal device, and implements the control plane process of other accesses through the 3GPP access side, thereby establishing a multiple access session through 3GPP access. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0098] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for use in the description of the embodiments. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present disclosure. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without any creative work.

[0099] FIG1 is an architecture diagram of a first multi-access session establishment system provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0100] FIG2 is an interactive flow chart of a first multi-access session establishment method provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0101] FIG3 is an architecture diagram of a second multi-access session establishment system provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0102] FIG4 is an interactive flow chart of a second multi-access session establishment method provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0103] FIG5 is an architecture diagram of a third multi-access session establishment system provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0104] FIG6 is an interactive flow chart of a third multi-access session establishment method provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0105] FIG7 is a schematic diagram of a flow chart of a first multi-access session establishment method provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0106] FIG8 is a schematic diagram of a flow chart of a second multi-access session establishment method provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0107] FIG9 is a schematic diagram of a flow chart of a third method for establishing a multi-access session according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0108] FIG10 is a schematic structural diagram of a first multi-access session establishment apparatus provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0109] FIG11 is a schematic structural diagram of a second apparatus for establishing a multi-access session provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0110] FIG12 is a schematic structural diagram of a third multi-access session establishment apparatus provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0111] FIG13 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a terminal device provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0112] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the present disclosure more clear, the present disclosure will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. It is apparent that the embodiments described are only a portion of the embodiments of the present disclosure, rather than all of them. All other embodiments derived by persons of ordinary skill in the art based on the embodiments of the present disclosure without creative effort are intended to fall within the scope of protection of the present disclosure.

[0113] The terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of the technical features being referred to. Thus, a feature identified as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of such features. Throughout this disclosure, unless otherwise specified, "plurality" means two or more.

[0114] In the description of this disclosure, it should be noted that, unless otherwise expressly specified or limited, the term "connection" should be understood in a broad sense. For example, it can mean direct connection, indirect connection through an intermediate medium, or internal communication between two devices. Those skilled in the art will understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this disclosure based on specific circumstances.

[0115] 5GC supports non-3GPP access networks. In non-3GPP access scenarios, terminal devices usually access 5GC through N3IWF / TNGF.

[0116] In a multi-access network architecture, a multi-access PDU session requires the terminal device to establish a PDU session with the session type of MA PDU session and the same PDU session ID on two accesses respectively, thereby establishing user plane resources on the two accesses, where information related to different accesses is sent by the corresponding access.

[0117] However, due to limitations in hardware capabilities and the commercial deployment of N3IWF / TNGF, the implementation of this architecture has been difficult to implement, thus restricting the development of multi-access sessions.

[0118] 3GPP R19 is considering studying a lightweight multi-access architecture. Under this architecture, terminal devices no longer need to access 5GC through N3IWF / TNGF, but instead implement the control plane process on the non-3GPP side through the 3GPP access side.

[0119] In view of this, embodiments of the present disclosure propose a method and system for establishing a multi-access session, so as to implement a multi-access session through 3GPP.

[0120] The following will be combined with the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments to explain in detail the technical solution of the present disclosure and how the technical solution of the present disclosure solves the above-mentioned technical problems. The following specific embodiments can be combined with each other, and the same or similar concepts or processes may not be repeated in some embodiments.

[0121] 1 , the first multi-access session establishment system provided in this embodiment includes a terminal device, an AMF, and an SMF.

[0122] Correspondingly, FIG2 is an interactive flow chart of a first multi-access session establishment method provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG2 , the method includes the following steps:

[0123] Step S201: The terminal device accesses through 3GPP and initiates a first session establishment request to the AMF.

[0124] The first session establishment request includes a first identifier, and the first identifier represents a multi-access capability.

[0125] In this embodiment, it is necessary to implement the control plane process of other access through the 3GPP access side. Based on this, when the terminal device generates the first session establishment request initiated to the AMF, it is necessary to place the identifier representing the multi-access capability in the first session establishment request, and the session type representing the first session establishment request is an aggregated PDU session (multi-access session). The terminal device initiates the above-mentioned first session establishment request to the AMF through 3GPP access, such as through the non-access stratum (NAS) message of 3GPP access; in this way, the network can know that the terminal device needs to establish multiple access sessions at the same time.

[0126] During implementation, before initiating a first session establishment request, the terminal device also needs to register the multi-access session with the 5GC. This embodiment does not specifically limit the registration method.

[0127] This embodiment does not specifically limit the first identifier. For example, symbols such as numbers or letters, or a combination of multiple symbols may be used.

[0128] Step S202: After receiving the first session establishment request, the AMF sends a second session establishment request carrying a second identifier to the target SMF; wherein the second identifier represents the multi-access capability.

[0129] During implementation, since the above-mentioned first session establishment request carries the first identifier representing the multi-access capability, the AMF can learn based on the first session establishment request that other access control plane processes need to be implemented through the 3GPP access side; based on this, the second session establishment request sent by the AMF to the SMF also needs to carry information representing the multi-access capability (second identifier).

[0130] This embodiment does not specifically limit the second identifier, and may use symbols such as numbers or letters, or a combination of multiple symbols. The second identifier may be the same as or different from the first identifier.

[0131] Step S203: After receiving the second session establishment request, the target SMF sends the first access information of the multi-access session to the terminal device through 3GPP access signaling.

[0132] As mentioned above, the control plane process of other access needs to be implemented through the 3GPP access side, and the terminal device needs to obtain the first access information of the multi-access session; based on this, the target SMF sends the first access information of the multi-access session to the terminal device through 3GPP access signaling (such as NAS message).

[0133] This embodiment does not specifically limit the first access information of the multi-access session, such as an IP address associated with 3GPP access and an IP address associated with non-3GPP access.

[0134] Step S204: After receiving the first access information, the terminal device establishes a multi-access user plane connection based on the first access information.

[0135] In the above solution, the terminal device initiates a PDU session establishment process representing multiple access to the network through 3GPP access, and the AMF selects a target SMF that supports the session function; the target SMF sends access-related control information of the multiple access session through the 3GPP access signaling between the terminal device, and implements the control plane process of other accesses through the 3GPP access side, thereby establishing a multiple access session through 3GPP access.

[0136] In some optional implementations, the multiple access capability includes 3GPP access and non-3GPP access.

[0137] Exemplarily, the multi-access capability indicates establishing 3GPP and non-3GPP access sessions through 3GPP access; or, using 3GPP NAS configuration information to enable the terminal device to establish a connection with the UPF through non-3GPP access.

[0138] The above solution implements the control plane process of the non-3GPP side through the 3GPP access side, thereby establishing a 3GPP access session and a non-3GPP access session through the session initiated by the 3GPP access. The non-3GPP side only retains the data plane process without the help of N3IWF / TNGF.

[0139] In some optional implementations, before the AMF sends the second session establishment request carrying the second identifier to the target SMF in step S203, the AMF further performs the following steps:

[0140] The AMF selects a target SMF that supports multi-access sessions from a preset SMF based on the first identifier.

[0141] In implementation, multiple SMFs can be set up in the system, some SMFs only support 3GPP access sessions, and some SMFs support multiple access sessions;

[0142] Based on this, AMF needs to select a target SMF that supports multiple access sessions from the preset SMFs so that subsequent processes can be completed through the target SMF.

[0143] 3 , the second multi-access session establishment system provided in this embodiment further includes a PCF based on the above multi-access session establishment system.

[0144] Correspondingly, FIG4 is an interactive flow chart of a second multi-access session establishment method provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG4 , the method includes the following steps:

[0145] Step S401: The terminal device accesses through 3GPP and initiates a first session establishment request to the AMF; wherein the first session establishment request includes a first identifier, and the first identifier represents the multi-access capability.

[0146] Step S402: After receiving the first session establishment request, the AMF sends a second session establishment request carrying a second identifier to the target SMF; wherein the second identifier represents the multi-access capability.

[0147] The specific implementation of steps S401 to S402 can refer to the above embodiment and will not be repeated here.

[0148] Step S403: After receiving the second session establishment request, the target SMF sends a session policy association instruction to the PCF.

[0149] During implementation, PCF needs to select mode information that supports multiple access sessions; based on this, after the target SMF receives the second session establishment request carrying the second identifier, it needs to send a session policy association instruction to PCF, and PCF responds to the session policy association instruction and selects appropriate target mode information.

[0150] Step S404: The PCF selects target mode information based on the session policy association instruction and sends it to the target SMF.

[0151] As described above, the PCF selects appropriate target mode information in response to the session policy association instruction and returns the target mode information to the target SMF.

[0152] This embodiment does not specifically limit the target mode information, such as the steering mode supporting multipath transmission and the corresponding data mode; the steering mode supporting multipath transmission can be selected from MPTCP and MPQUIC.

[0153] Step S405: The target SMF sends the first access information and target mode information of the multi-access session to the terminal device through 3GPP access signaling.

[0154] During implementation, in addition to obtaining the first access information of the above-mentioned multi-access session, the terminal device also needs to obtain the target mode information as a multi-access strategy; based on this, the target SMF sends the first access information of the multi-access session and the target mode information to the terminal device through 3GPP access signaling.

[0155] Step S406: After receiving the first access information and target mode information, the terminal device establishes a multi-access user plane connection.

[0156] The specific implementation of step S406 can refer to other embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0157] 5 , the third multi-access session establishment system provided in this embodiment, based on any of the above multi-access session establishment systems, further includes a UPF;

[0158] Correspondingly, FIG6 is an interactive flow chart of a first multi-access session establishment method provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG6 , the method includes the following steps:

[0159] Step S601: The terminal device accesses through 3GPP and initiates a first session establishment request to the AMF; wherein the first session establishment request includes a first identifier, and the first identifier represents the multi-access capability.

[0160] Step S602: After receiving the first session establishment request, the AMF sends a second session establishment request carrying a second identifier to the target SMF; wherein the second identifier represents the multi-access capability.

[0161] Step S603: After receiving the second session establishment request, the target SMF selects a target UPF that supports multiple access sessions from the preset UPF based on the second identifier, and sends second access information to the target UPF.

[0162] Step S604: The target UPF sends third access information to the target SMF in response to the second access information.

[0163] Step S605: The target SMF generates first access information based on the second access information and the third access information, and sends the first access information of the multi-access session to the terminal device through 3GPP access signaling.

[0164] During implementation, the session establishment process needs to establish a user plane connection between the terminal device and the UPF; based on this, the target SMF also needs to send the second access information to the UPF.

[0165] In this embodiment, multiple UPFs can be set in the system, and the target SMF needs to select a target UPF that supports multiple access sessions.

[0166] Step S606: Based on the first access information, the terminal device establishes a 3GPP user plane connection and a non-3GPP user plane connection with the target UPF respectively.

[0167] As mentioned above, the session establishment process requires establishing a user plane connection between the terminal device and the UPF; based on this, after receiving the first access information, the terminal device establishes a 3GPP user plane connection and a non-3GPP user plane connection with the target UPF respectively.

[0168] The multi-access session establishment method performed by the terminal device in the embodiment of the present disclosure is shown in FIG7 , and includes the following steps:

[0169] Step S701: Initiate a first session establishment request to the AMF through 3GPP access, so that after receiving the first session establishment request, the AMF sends a second session establishment request carrying a second identifier to the target SMF, and after receiving the second session establishment request, the target SMF sends first access information of a multi-access session to the terminal device through 3GPP access signaling; wherein, the first session establishment request includes a first identifier, and the first identifier and the second identifier represent the multi-access capability;

[0170] Step S702: After receiving the first access information, a multi-access user plane connection is established based on the first access information.

[0171] In some optional implementations, the multiple access capability includes 3GPP access and non-3GPP access.

[0172] In some optional implementations, establishing a multi-access user plane connection based on the first access information includes:

[0173] Based on the first access information, a 3GPP user plane connection and a non-3GPP user plane connection are established with the target UPF respectively.

[0174] The multi-access session establishment method performed by the AMF in the embodiment of the present disclosure is shown in FIG8 , and includes the following steps:

[0175] Step S801: receiving a first session establishment request initiated by a terminal device through 3GPP access; wherein the first session establishment request includes a first identifier, and the first identifier represents a multi-access capability;

[0176] Step S802: Send a second session establishment request carrying a second identifier to the target SMF, so that after receiving the second session establishment request, the target SMF sends the first access information of the multi-access session to the terminal device through 3GPP access signaling; after receiving the first access information, the terminal device establishes a multi-access user plane connection based on the first access information; wherein, the second identifier represents the multi-access capability.

[0177] In some optional implementations, before sending the second session establishment request carrying the second identifier to the target SMF, the method further includes:

[0178] Based on the first identifier, a target SMF that supports multi-access sessions is selected from the preset SMFs.

[0179] The multi-access session establishment method performed by the SMF in the embodiment of the present disclosure is shown in FIG9 , and includes the following steps:

[0180] Step S901: Receive a second session establishment request carrying a second identifier sent by the AMF; wherein the second session establishment request is sent by the AMF after receiving a first session establishment request initiated by the terminal device through 3GPP access, the first session establishment request carries a first identifier, and the first identifier and the second identifier represent multi-access capabilities;

[0181] Step S902: Send first access information of a multi-access session to the terminal device through 3GPP access signaling, so that the terminal device establishes a multi-access user plane connection based on the first access information after receiving the first access information.

[0182] In some optional implementations, before sending the first access information of the multi-access session to the terminal device through 3GPP access signaling, the method further includes:

[0183] sending a session policy association instruction to a PCF, so that the PCF selects target mode information based on the session policy association instruction;

[0184] Sending first access information of the multi-access session to the terminal device through 3GPP access signaling, further comprising:

[0185] Based on the target mode information, the target mode information is sent to the terminal device via 3GPP access signaling.

[0186] In some optional implementations, the target mode information includes a steering mode supporting multipath transmission and a corresponding data mode; wherein the steering mode supporting multipath transmission is MPTCP or MPQUIC.

[0187] In some optional implementations, after receiving the second session establishment request carrying the second identifier sent by the AMF, the method further includes:

[0188] Based on the second identifier, selecting a target UPF that supports the multi-access session from a preset UPF;

[0189] Sending second access information to the target UPF;

[0190] The first access information is generated based on the second access information and the third access information; wherein the third access information is sent by the target UPF to the target SMF in response to the second access information.

[0191] The specific implementation of the embodiments of FIG. 7 to FIG. 9 can refer to the implementation of the above-mentioned interaction method, and the repeated parts will not be repeated.

[0192] As shown in FIG10 , based on the same inventive concept as the multi-access session establishment method shown in FIG7 , an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a first multi-access session establishment apparatus 1000 , which is applied to a terminal device and includes:

[0193] The first request module 1001 is configured to initiate a first session establishment request to the AMF through 3GPP access, so that after receiving the first session establishment request, the AMF sends a second session establishment request carrying a second identifier to the target SMF, and after receiving the second session establishment request, the target SMF sends first access information of a multi-access session to the terminal device through 3GPP access signaling; wherein, the first session establishment request includes a first identifier, and the first identifier and the second identifier represent the multi-access capability;

[0194] The channel establishing module 1002 is configured to establish a multi-access user plane connection based on the first access information after receiving the first access information.

[0195] In some optional implementations, the multiple access capability includes 3GPP access and non-3GPP access.

[0196] In some optional implementations, the channel establishing module 1002 is specifically configured to:

[0197] Based on the first access information, a 3GPP user plane connection and a non-3GPP user plane connection are established with the target UPF respectively.

[0198] As shown in FIG11 , based on the same inventive concept as the multi-access session establishment method shown in FIG8 , an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a second multi-access session establishment apparatus 1100, which is applied to an AMF. The apparatus includes:

[0199] The first receiving module 1101 is configured to receive a first session establishment request initiated by a terminal device through 3GPP access; wherein the first session establishment request includes a first identifier, and the first identifier represents a multi-access capability;

[0200] The second request module 1102 is used to send a second session establishment request carrying a second identifier to the target SMF, so that after receiving the second session establishment request, the target SMF sends the first access information of the multi-access session to the terminal device through 3GPP access signaling; after receiving the first access information, the terminal device establishes a multi-access user plane connection based on the first access information; wherein, the second identifier represents the multi-access capability.

[0201] In some optional implementations, before sending the second session establishment request carrying the second identifier to the target SMF, the second request module 1102 is further configured to:

[0202] Based on the first identifier, a target SMF that supports multi-access sessions is selected from the preset SMFs.

[0203] As shown in FIG12 , based on the same inventive concept as the multi-access session establishment method shown in FIG9 , an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a third multi-access session establishment apparatus 1200, which is applied to a target SMF. The apparatus includes:

[0204] The second receiving module 1201 is configured to receive a second session establishment request carrying a second identifier sent by the AMF; wherein the second session establishment request is sent by the AMF after receiving a first session establishment request initiated by the terminal device through 3GPP access, the first session establishment request carries a first identifier, and the first identifier and the second identifier represent multi-access capabilities;

[0205] The sending module 1202 is used to send the first access information of the multi-access session to the terminal device through 3GPP access signaling, so that the terminal device establishes a multi-access user plane connection based on the first access information after receiving the first access information.

[0206] Some optional implementations further include a policy association module 1203, configured to:

[0207] Before the sending module sends the first access information of the multi-access session to the terminal device through the 3GPP access signaling, sending a session policy association instruction to the PCF, so that the PCF selects the target mode information based on the session policy association instruction;

[0208] The sending module 1202 sends first access information of the multi-access session to the terminal device through 3GPP access signaling, further comprising:

[0209] Based on the target mode information, the target mode information is sent to the terminal device via 3GPP access signaling.

[0210] In some optional implementations, the target mode information includes a steering mode supporting multipath transmission and a corresponding data mode; wherein the steering mode supporting multipath transmission is MPTCP or MPQUIC.

[0211] In some optional implementations, after the second receiving module 1201 receives the second session establishment request carrying the second identifier sent by the AMF, the sending module 1202 is further configured to:

[0212] Based on the second identifier, selecting a target UPF that supports the multi-access session from a preset UPF;

[0213] Sending second access information to the target UPF;

[0214] The first access information is generated based on the second access information and the third access information; wherein the third access information is sent by the target UPF to the target SMF in response to the second access information.

[0215] The specific implementation of the embodiments of Figures 10 to 12 can refer to the implementation of the above-mentioned interaction method, and the repeated parts will not be repeated.

[0216] Based on the same technical concept, an embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a terminal device 1300, as shown in Figure 13, comprising at least one processor 1301 and a memory 1302 connected to the at least one processor. The specific connection medium between the processor 1301 and the memory 1302 is not limited in the embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 13 illustrates the connection between the processor 1301 and the memory 1302 via a bus 1303. Buses can be categorized as path buses, data buses, and control buses. For ease of illustration, Figure 13 shows only one thick line, but this does not imply that there is only one bus or only one type of bus.

[0217] Among them, the processor 1301 is the control center of the terminal device. It can use various interfaces and lines to connect various parts of the terminal device, and realize data processing by running or executing instructions stored in the memory 1302 and calling data stored in the memory 1302. Optionally, the processor 1301 may include one or more processing units. The processor 1301 may integrate an application processor and a modem processor, wherein the application processor mainly processes the operating system, user interface, and application programs, etc., and the modem processor mainly processes the issuance of instructions. It is understandable that the above-mentioned modem processor may not be integrated into the processor 1301. In some embodiments, the processor 1301 and the memory 1302 may be implemented on the same chip. In some embodiments, they may also be implemented separately on independent chips.

[0218] The processor 1301 can be a general-purpose processor, such as a central processing unit (CPU), a digital signal processor, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array or other programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic device, or a discrete hardware component, and can implement or execute the various methods, steps, and logic block diagrams disclosed in the embodiments of the present disclosure. A general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor. The steps of the method disclosed in conjunction with the multi-access session establishment method embodiment can be directly implemented as being executed by a hardware processor, or can be executed by a combination of hardware and software modules in the processor.

[0219] The memory 1302 is a non-volatile computer-readable storage medium that can be used to store non-volatile software programs, non-volatile computer executable programs and modules. The memory 1302 may include at least one type of storage medium, such as a flash memory, a hard disk, a multimedia card, a card-type memory, a random access memory (RAM), a static random access memory (SRAM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), a read-only memory (ROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a magnetic memory, a disk, an optical disk, etc. The memory 1302 is any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program codes in the form of instructions or data structures and can be accessed by a computer, but is not limited thereto. The memory 1302 in the embodiment of the present disclosure can also be a circuit or any other device that can realize a storage function, for storing program instructions and / or data.

[0220] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the memory 1302 stores a computer program. When the program is executed by the processor 1301, the processor 1301 executes the multi-access session establishment method corresponding to the above-mentioned terminal device side.

[0221] Based on the same technical concept, an embodiment of the present disclosure also provides an AMF, comprising at least one processor and at least one memory, wherein the memory stores a computer program, and when the program is executed by the processor, the processor executes the multi-access session establishment method corresponding to the above-mentioned AMF side.

[0222] Based on the same technical concept, an embodiment of the present disclosure also provides an SMF, including at least one processor and at least one memory, wherein the memory stores a computer program, and when the program is executed by the processor, the processor executes the multi-access session establishment method corresponding to the above-mentioned SMF side.

[0223] Based on the same technical concept, an embodiment of the present disclosure also provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores a computer program executable by a processor. When the program runs on the processor, the processor executes the steps of the above-mentioned multi-access session establishment method.

[0224] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the embodiments of the present disclosure may be provided as methods, systems, or computer program products. Therefore, the present disclosure may take the form of a complete hardware embodiment, a complete software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware. Furthermore, the present disclosure may take the form of a computer program product implemented on one or more computer-usable storage media (including but not limited to magnetic disk storage, CD-ROM, optical storage, etc.) containing computer-usable program code.

[0225] The present disclosure is described with reference to the flowcharts and / or block diagrams of the methods, devices (systems), and computer program products according to the present disclosure. It should be understood that each process and / or box in the flowchart and / or block diagram, as well as the combination of the processes and / or boxes in the flowchart and / or block diagram, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, an embedded processor, or other programmable data processing device to produce a machine, so that the instructions executed by the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing device produce a device for implementing the functions specified in one or more processes in the flowchart and / or one or more boxes in the block diagram.

[0226] These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing device to operate in a specific manner, so that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce a product including an instruction device that implements the functions specified in one or more processes in the flowchart and / or one or more boxes in the block diagram.

[0227] These computer program instructions can also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing device so that a series of operating steps are executed on the computer or other programmable device to produce a computer-implemented process, so that the instructions executed on the computer or other programmable device provide steps for implementing the functions specified in one or more processes in the flowchart and / or one or more boxes in the block diagram.

[0228] Although the preferred embodiments of the present disclosure have been described, those skilled in the art may make additional changes and modifications to these embodiments once they have learned the basic creative concepts. Therefore, the appended claims are intended to be interpreted as including the preferred embodiments and all changes and modifications that fall within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0229] Obviously, those skilled in the art may make various changes and modifications to the present disclosure without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Thus, if these modifications and variations of the present disclosure fall within the scope of the claims of the present disclosure and their equivalents, the present disclosure is intended to include these modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A method for establishing a multi-access session, characterized in that: Applied to a terminal device, the method includes: Through 3GPP access, a first session establishment request is initiated to the access and mobility management function network element AMF, so that after receiving the first session establishment request, the AMF sends a second session establishment request carrying a second identifier to the target session management function network element SMF, and after receiving the second session establishment request, the target SMF sends the first access information of the multi-access session to the terminal device through 3GPP access signaling; wherein, the first session establishment request includes a first identifier, and the first identifier and the second identifier represent the multi-access capability; After receiving the first access information, a multi-access user plane connection is established based on the first access information.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein The multiple access capability includes 3GPP access and non-3GPP access.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein Establishing a multi-access user plane connection based on the first access information includes: Based on the first access information, a 3GPP user plane connection and a non-3GPP user plane connection are established with the target user plane function network element UPF respectively.

4. A multi-access session establishment method, characterized in that: Applied to AMF, the method comprises: Receiving a first session establishment request initiated by a terminal device through 3GPP access; wherein the first session establishment request includes a first identifier, and the first identifier represents a multi-access capability; A second session establishment request carrying a second identifier is sent to the target SMF, so that after receiving the second session establishment request, the target SMF sends the first access information of the multi-access session to the terminal device through 3GPP access signaling; after receiving the first access information, the terminal device establishes a multi-access user plane connection based on the first access information; wherein, the second identifier represents the multi-access capability.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein Before sending the second session establishment request carrying the second identifier to the target SMF, the method further includes: Based on the first identifier, a target SMF that supports multi-access sessions is selected from the preset SMFs.

6. A multi-access session establishment method, characterized in that: Applied to the target SMF, the method comprises: Receive a second session establishment request carrying a second identifier sent by the AMF; wherein the second session establishment request is sent by the AMF after receiving a first session establishment request initiated by the terminal device through 3GPP access, and the first session establishment request carries the first identifier, and the first identifier and the second identifier represent the multi-access capability; The first access information of the multi-access session is sent to the terminal device through 3GPP access signaling, so that the terminal device establishes a multi-access user plane connection based on the first access information after receiving the first access information.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein Before sending the first access information of the multi-access session to the terminal device through 3GPP access signaling, the method further includes: Sending a session policy association instruction to a policy control function network element PCF, so that the PCF selects target mode information based on the session policy association instruction; Sending first access information of the multi-access session to the terminal device through 3GPP access signaling, further comprising: Based on the target mode information, the target mode information is sent to the terminal device via 3GPP access signaling.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein The target mode information includes a steering mode supporting multipath transmission and a corresponding data mode; wherein the steering mode supporting multipath transmission is the Multipath Transport Control Protocol MPTCP or the Multipath Quick UDP Network Connection MPQUIC.

9. The method according to claim 6, wherein After receiving the second session establishment request carrying the second identifier sent by the AMF, the method further includes: Based on the second identifier, selecting a target UPF that supports the multi-access session from a preset UPF; Sending second access information to the target UPF; The first access information is generated based on the second access information and the third access information; wherein the third access information is sent by the target UPF to the target SMF in response to the second access information.

10. A multi-access session establishment system, characterized in that: The system includes a terminal device, an AMF, and a target SMF, wherein: The terminal device is configured to initiate a first session establishment request to the AMF through 3GPP access; wherein the first session establishment request includes a first identifier, and the first identifier represents a multi-access capability; The AMF is configured to send a second session establishment request carrying a second identifier to the target SMF after receiving the first session establishment request; wherein the second identifier represents the multi-access capability; The target SMF is configured to send first access information of the multi-access session to the terminal device through 3GPP access signaling after receiving the second session establishment request; The terminal device is further used to establish a multi-access user plane connection based on the first access information after receiving the first access information.

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