Session processing method and apparatus, and storage medium

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to the technical field of communications, and provides a session processing method and apparatus, and a storage medium. The method comprises: in response to a received protocol data unit (PDU) session establishment request, determining indication information and association information, the PDU session establishment request being used to request to establish a PDU session for a terminal device; on the basis of the indication information and the association information, determining at least one first target UPF entity; and, on the basis of the at least one first target UPF entity, establishing the PDU session. The above method facilitates obtaining, by means of filtering, a UPF entity that meets a function requirement of the terminal device.

Description

Session processing method, device and storage medium

[0001] This disclosure claims priority to Chinese patent application number 202410322542.4, filed with the China Patent Office on March 20, 2024, entitled “Session Processing Method, Device and Storage Medium,” the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0002] The present disclosure relates to the field of communication technologies, and more specifically, to a session processing method, device, and storage medium. Background Art

[0003] In communications systems, the user plane primarily processes and transmits network data from user terminals. Furthermore, with the continuous advancement of technology, programmable technologies can integrate devices with different network protocols into the user plane, enhancing its openness and flexibility.

[0004] With the increase in the types of devices in the user plane, how to select a suitable user plane functional entity to process the network data of the user terminal is an urgent problem to be solved. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The present disclosure provides a session processing method, device and storage medium to ensure that the selected UPF entity meets the function selection requirements of the terminal device.

[0006] In a first aspect, a session processing method is provided, which is applied to a session management function SMF entity, the method comprising: determining indication information and association information in response to a received protocol data unit PDU session establishment request; wherein the PDU session establishment request is used to request establishment of a PDU session for a terminal device; determining at least one first target UPF entity based on the association information and the indication information; and establishing a PDU session based on the at least one first target UPF entity.

[0007] In this embodiment, after receiving a session establishment request, by determining the association information and the indication information of the function selection condition for instructing the terminal device to select the UPF entity, the UPF entity that meets the terminal device requirements can be screened in the user plane to ensure the normal operation of the terminal device's services. Furthermore, after integrating UPF entities of multiple different protocols into the user plane through programmable technology, the UPF entity that meets the current terminal device requirements can be flexibly selected according to the above method, thereby improving the network's ability to cope with various terminal device application scenarios.

[0008] In some embodiments, the PDU session establishment request carries the indication information; the indication information includes: at least one service requirement and / or at least one capability requirement;

[0009] Among them, the business requirements are used to indicate the business that the terminal device needs to implement; the capability requirements are used to indicate the capabilities of the UPF entity required by the terminal device.

[0010] In this embodiment, by carrying the association information in the session establishment request and the indication information of the function selection condition for instructing the terminal device to select the UPF entity, the efficiency of determining the UPF entity is improved and the efficiency of establishing the PDU session is improved.

[0011] In some embodiments, the first target UPF entity satisfies at least one of the business requirements and / or at least one of the capability requirements.

[0012] In some embodiments, the at least one first target UPF entity meets all business requirements and all capability requirements in the indication information.

[0013] In this embodiment, when determining the UPF entity required to establish a PDU session, one or more first target UPF entities can be determined, and all the determined first target UPF entities can meet all the requirements indicated by the indication information.

[0014] In some embodiments, the associated information includes: one or more of: network slice, data network name DNN, PDU session type, location information of the terminal device, UPF entity load, and data network access identifier DNAI.

[0015] In this embodiment, the first target UPF entity can be determined in combination with the association information and the indication information, so as not only to screen out devices that meet the functional requirements of the terminal device, but also to select a more suitable UPF entity based on the information in the association information to ensure the session quality of the terminal device. For example, the UPF entity that is closest to the terminal device or has the lowest UPF entity load can be screened out.

[0016] In some embodiments, establishing a PDU session based on the at least one first target UPF entity includes:

[0017] Sending first tunnel information of the at least one first target UPF entity to the access network device corresponding to the terminal device;

[0018] Send the second tunnel information of the access network device to the at least one first target UPF entity.

[0019] In some embodiments, the method further comprises:

[0020] Determining update information in response to a received PDU session modification request; wherein the PDU session modification request is sent by the terminal device when determining that the indication information is changed; and the update information is a result of the change of the indication information;

[0021] Determining at least one second target UPF entity according to the update information;

[0022] The PDU session is modified according to the at least one second target UPF entity.

[0023] In this embodiment, when the terminal device determines that its own business needs or capability requirements have changed, it can also carry change information indicating the updated requirements in the session modification request, so as to determine the second target UPF entity that complies with the updated change information through session modification processing to meet the needs of the terminal device.

[0024] In some embodiments, modifying the PDU session according to the at least one second target UPF entity includes:

[0025] If it is determined that the second target UPF entity is different from the first target UPF entity corresponding to the PDU session, sending the third tunnel information of the second target UPF entity to the access network device corresponding to the terminal device;

[0026] Send the fourth tunnel information of the access network device to the second target UPF entity.

[0027] In some embodiments, the PDU session modification request carries the update information; and determining at least one second target UPF entity according to the update information includes:

[0028] At least one second target UPF entity is determined based on the update information and the at least one first target UPF entity.

[0029] In this embodiment, the second target UPF entity is determined by combining the first UPF entity so that a UPF entity that still meets the update information can be selected from the first UPF entity as the second target UPF entity to reduce the waste of resources caused by UPF entity switching. The second target UPF entity determined in this embodiment can be the first target UPF entity or any other UPF entity other than the first target UPF entity.

[0030] In a second aspect, a session processing method is provided, which is applied to a terminal device, and the method includes:

[0031] Send a PDU session establishment request to the SMF entity; wherein the PDU session establishment request is used to indicate the determination of indication information and association information, and establish a PDU session for the terminal device based on at least one first target UPF entity determined by the indication information and the association information.

[0032] In some embodiments, the PDU session establishment request carries the indication information; the indication information includes: at least one service requirement and / or at least one capability requirement;

[0033] Among them, the business requirements are used to indicate the business that the terminal device needs to implement; the capability requirements are used to indicate the capabilities of the UPF entity required by the terminal device.

[0034] In some embodiments, the first target UPF entity satisfies at least one of the business requirements and / or at least one of the capability requirements.

[0035] In some embodiments, the at least one first target UPF entity meets all business requirements and all capability requirements in the indication information.

[0036] In some embodiments, the method further comprises:

[0037] If it is determined that the indication information required by the terminal device has changed, a PDU session modification request is sent to the SMF entity; wherein the PDU session modification request is used to indicate the determination of the update information, and perform PDU session modification based on at least one second target UPF entity determined by the update information; the update information is used to indicate the change content of the indication information.

[0038] In some embodiments, the PDU session modification request carries the update information; the at least one second target UPF entity is determined based on the update information and the at least one first target UPF entity.

[0039] In a third aspect, a session processing device is provided, including a memory, a transceiver, and a processor:

[0040] A memory for storing a computer program; a transceiver for transmitting and receiving data under the control of the processor; and a processor for reading the computer program in the memory and performing the following operations:

[0041] Determining indication information and associated information in response to a received protocol data unit (PDU) session establishment request, wherein the PDU session establishment request is used to request establishment of a PDU session for a terminal device;

[0042] Determine at least one first target UPF entity according to the indication information and the association information;

[0043] A PDU session is established based on the at least one first target UPF entity.

[0044] In some embodiments, the PDU session establishment request carries the indication information; the indication information includes: at least one service requirement and / or at least one capability requirement;

[0045] Among them, the business requirements are used to indicate the business that the terminal device needs to implement; the capability requirements are used to indicate the capabilities of the UPF entity required by the terminal device.

[0046] In some embodiments, the associated information includes: one or more of: network slice, data network name DNN, PDU session type, location information of the terminal device, UPF entity load, and data network access identifier DNAI.

[0047] In some embodiments, the processor is further configured to:

[0048] Determining update information in response to a received PDU session modification request; wherein the PDU session modification request is sent by the terminal device when determining that the indication information is changed; and the update information is a result of the change of the indication information;

[0049] Determining at least one second target UPF entity according to the update information;

[0050] The PDU session is modified according to the at least one second target UPF entity.

[0051] In some embodiments, the PDU session modification request carries the update information; and determining at least one second target UPF entity according to the update information includes:

[0052] At least one second target UPF entity is determined based on the update information and the at least one first target UPF entity.

[0053] In a fourth aspect, a session processing device is provided, including a memory, a transceiver, and a processor:

[0054] A memory for storing a computer program; a transceiver for transmitting and receiving data under the control of the processor; and a processor for reading the computer program in the memory and performing the following operations:

[0055] Control the transceiver to send a PDU session establishment request to the SMF entity; wherein the PDU session establishment request is used to indicate the determination of indication information and association information, and establish a PDU session for the terminal device based on at least one first target UPF entity determined by the indication information and the association information.

[0056] In some embodiments, the processor is further configured to:

[0057] If it is determined that the indication information required by the terminal device has changed, the transceiver is controlled to send a PDU session modification request to the SMF entity; wherein, the PDU session modification request is used to indicate the determination of update information, and perform PDU session modification based on at least one second target UPF entity determined by the update information; the update information is used to indicate the change content of the indication information.

[0058] In a fifth aspect, a session processing device is provided, which is applied to a session management function (SMF) entity. The device includes:

[0059] The transceiver unit is configured to receive a protocol data unit (PDU) session establishment request; the PDU session establishment request is used to request establishment of a PDU session for a terminal device;

[0060] A processing unit is used to determine indication information and association information, and determine at least one first target UPF entity based on the indication information and the association information; and establish a PDU session based on the at least one first target UPF entity.

[0061] In a sixth aspect, a session processing apparatus is provided, applied to a terminal device, the apparatus comprising:

[0062] a processing unit, configured to determine indication information and associated information;

[0063] A transceiver unit is used to send a PDU session establishment request to an SMF entity; wherein the PDU session establishment request is used to indicate the determination of the indication information and the association information, and to establish a PDU session for the terminal device based on at least one first target UPF entity determined by the indication information and the association information.

[0064] In the seventh aspect, a processor-readable storage medium is provided, which stores a computer program, and the computer program is used to enable the processor to execute the method in the above-mentioned first aspect or second aspect and any possible implementation of the first aspect or second aspect.

[0065] In an eighth aspect, a computer program product is provided, which includes: computer program code (or instructions), which, when executed by one or more processors, enables a device including the processor to perform the method in the above-mentioned first aspect or second aspect and any possible implementation of the first aspect or second aspect.

[0066] In the ninth aspect, a communication system is provided, which includes a communication device provided for executing the above-mentioned third aspect and any possible implementation of the third aspect, and the system also includes a communication device provided for executing the above-mentioned fourth aspect and any possible implementation of the fourth aspect.

[0067] It should be understood that the contents described in the above summary of the invention are not intended to limit the key or important features of the embodiments of the present disclosure, nor are they intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Other features of the present disclosure will become easier to understand through the following description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0068] FIG1 is a flow chart of a session processing method provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0069] FIG2 is a flow chart of another session processing method provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0070] FIG3 is a flow chart of a session establishment process provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0071] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of a session modification process provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0072] FIG5 is a structural diagram of a session processing device provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0073] FIG6 is a schematic structural diagram of another session processing device provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0074] FIG7 is a structural diagram of another session processing device provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0075] FIG8 is a schematic structural diagram of another session processing device provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0076] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the term "and / or" describes the association relationship between associated objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent three situations: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone. The character " / " generally indicates that the associated objects are in an "or" relationship.

[0077] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the term "plurality" refers to two or more than two, and other quantifiers are similar thereto.

[0078] The following will be combined with the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present disclosure to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosure. Obviously, the embodiments described are only part of the embodiments of the present disclosure and not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present disclosure, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making any creative efforts shall fall within the scope of protection of the present disclosure.

[0079] The present disclosure provides a session processing method and apparatus that, based on indication information determined in a received session establishment request, determines function selection conditions that must be met by a user plane functional entity to be selected, thereby screening the user plane functional entities to be selected. Data exchange and corresponding functions between a device and a data network are implemented based on the screened user plane functional entities.

[0080] Among them, the method and the device are based on the same application concept. Since the principles of solving problems by the method and the device are similar, the implementation of the device and the method can refer to each other, and the repeated parts will not be repeated.

[0081] The technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure can be applicable to a variety of systems. For example, applicable systems may be long term evolution (LTE) systems, LTE frequency division duplex (FDD) systems, LTE time division duplex (TDD) systems, advanced long term evolution (LTE-A) systems, universal mobile telecommunication systems (UMTS), worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX) systems, 5G new radio (NR) systems and their evolved communication systems, etc. These various systems may include terminal devices and network devices. The system may also include a core network part, such as an evolved packet system (EPS), a 5G system (5GS), etc.

[0082] The terminal device involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure may be a device that provides voice and / or data connectivity to a user, a handheld device with wireless connection function, or other processing device connected to a wireless modem. In different systems, the name of the terminal device may also be different. For example, in a 5G system, the terminal device may be called User Equipment (UE). A wireless terminal device may be a USB storage device, other personal computer memory devices, and a dongle. It may also communicate with one or more core networks (CN) via a radio access network (RAN). A wireless terminal device may be a mobile terminal device, such as a mobile phone (or "cellular" phone) and a computer with a mobile terminal device. For example, it may be a portable, pocket-sized, handheld, computer-built-in, or vehicle-mounted mobile device that exchanges language and / or data with a radio access network. For example, Personal Communication Service (PCS) phones, cordless phones, Session Initiated Protocol (SIP) phones, Wireless Local Loop (WLL) stations, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), personal computers, tablet computers, Machine-type Communication (MTC) terminal devices, etc. Wireless terminal devices may also be referred to as systems, subscriber units, subscriber stations, mobile stations, mobile stations, remote stations, access points, remote terminal devices, access terminal devices, user terminal devices, user agents, user devices, and wireless access points and routers / modems that meet the limitations of this definition, but are not limited in the embodiments of the present disclosure. The terminal device in the embodiment of the present disclosure sends relevant information or similar descriptions to the network side device, which only indicates that the terminal device sends the relevant information in the form of a wireless signal, and its intended recipient is the network device. The network device can obtain the relevant information by receiving the wireless signal.

[0083] The network device involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure may be a base station, which may include multiple cells providing services to the terminal. Depending on the application scenario, the base station may also be called an access point, or may be a device in the access network that communicates with the wireless terminal device through one or more sectors on the air interface, or other names. The network device may be used to interchange received air frames with Internet Protocol (IP) packets, acting as a router between the wireless terminal device and the rest of the access network, wherein the rest of the access network may include an Internet Protocol (IP) communication network. The network device may also coordinate the attribute management of the air interface. For example, the network device involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure may be an evolved network device (eNB or e-NodeB) in a long term evolution (LTE) system, a 5G base station (gNB) in a next generation 5G network architecture, etc., or a home evolved Node B (HeNB), a relay node, a femto, a pico base station, a network test device, etc., which is not limited in the embodiments of the present disclosure. In some network structures, network devices may include centralized unit (CU) nodes and distributed unit (DU) nodes, and the centralized unit and the distributed unit may also be arranged geographically separately.

[0084] The following is an explanation of the relevant technologies and terms involved in this disclosure:

[0085] The access and mobility management function (AMF) entity is mainly responsible for terminal device authentication, terminal device mobility management, network slice selection, selection of user plane functional entities, access authorization and access authentication, security-related functions, etc.; it can also serve as the anchor point for the N1 and N2 interface connections, providing routing of N1 / N2 session management (SM) information for the session management function entity; and it can also maintain and manage terminal status information, participate in broadcast sessions, etc.

[0086] The session management function (SMF) entity is mainly responsible for the allocation and control of terminal sessions, user plane function entities, the allocation and management of terminal Internet Protocol (IP) addresses, session quality of service (QoS) management, obtaining policy control and charging (PCC) policies from the policy control function (PCF) entity, the termination point of the SM part of the non-access stratum (NAS) message, downlink data notification, determining the session and service continuity (SSC) mode of a session, roaming functions, etc., and in the present disclosure, the SMF entity can determine the function selection conditions of the user plane entity required for this session through the received session establishment request, and screen out the appropriate user plane function entity based on the obtained function selection conditions.

[0087] The user plane function (UPF) entity serves as the anchor point for packet data unit (PDU) session connections and is responsible for terminal data packet filtering, data transmission / forwarding, rate control, billing information generation, packet inspection and policy application, transmission usage reporting, user plane QoS processing, uplink transmission authentication, transmission level verification, downlink data packet caching and downlink data notification triggering, and supporting branch points for multi-homed PDU sessions.

[0088] Data network (DN): used to provide external data network services.

[0089] Radio Access Network (RAN): Implements radio physical layer functions, resource scheduling and radio resource management, radio access control, and mobility management. For example, the RAN connects to the UPF entity via the user plane interface N3 to transmit terminal data. The RAN establishes a control plane signaling connection with the AMF entity via the control plane interface N2 to implement functions such as radio access bearer control. The RAN can also be represented as (R)AN.

[0090] PCF entity: allocates reference information to network entities, for example, allocates reference information to SMF entities; and PCF supports a unified policy architecture to govern network behavior; PCF can provide policy rules for entities on the control plane function to execute, thereby enabling the front end to access contract information related to policy decisions in the unified data repository (UDR).

[0091] Unified data management function (UDM) entity: allocates reference information to network entities, for example, allocates reference information to SMF entities.

[0092] It should be pointed out that the nouns or terms involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure can refer to each other and will not be repeated here.

[0093] The following describes the session processing method mentioned in the embodiment of the present disclosure with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG1 is a flow chart of a session processing method provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG1 , the method includes the following steps:

[0094] S101. The terminal device sends a PDU session establishment request to the SMF entity; the PDU session establishment request is used to request to establish a PDU session for the terminal device.

[0095] For example, with the continuous development of communication technology, in order to overcome the functional limitations of traditional user plane functional entities, multiple user plane functional entity devices with different protocol functions can be integrated through programmable technology, so that the user plane has devices with multiple different functions. In order to ensure that the terminal device can perform data forwarding routing and other processing based on the appropriate user plane functional entity, in this embodiment, the terminal device can first send a PDU session establishment request to the SMF entity.

[0096] It should be noted that the PDU session establishment request in this embodiment is not only used to request the SMF entity to establish a PDU session, but can also further indicate indication information. The indication information can be used to indicate the function selection condition of the UPF entity, that is, to select which UPF device has which function or functions.

[0097] In addition, in this embodiment, the PDU session establishment request sent by the terminal device to the SMF can be sent by the terminal device to the SMF entity through the AMF entity. In this embodiment, there is no restriction on the sending method of the PDU session establishment request.

[0098] In one possible implementation, the PDU session establishment request sent by the terminal device can directly carry indication information. After the SMF entity receives the PDU session establishment request, it can extract the indication information carried in the PDU session establishment request.

[0099] In one possible implementation, the PDU session establishment request sent by the terminal device can carry a unique identifier corresponding to the indication information, so that the SMF entity can determine the indication information based on the unique identifier.

[0100] In one possible implementation, the PDU session establishment request sent by the terminal device may also carry associated information, wherein the associated information may include one or more of the following: session management-network slice selection assistance information (S-NSSAI) corresponding to the PDU session, data network name (DNN) corresponding to the PDU session, PDU session identifier, PDU session type (request type), terminal device location information, UPF entity load, data network access identifier (DN Access Identifier, DNAI) and other information used to assist in UPF entity screening.

[0101] Among them, S-NSSAI is the session management-network slice selection auxiliary information (also known as network slice) corresponding to the PDU session, which can also be divided into the S-NSSAI corresponding to the terminal device's home network and the S-NSSAI of the service network requested by the terminal device to provide services.

[0102] The PDU session type in the PDU session establishment request can be understood as a packet data unit type, such as Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4), Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv6), Ethernet, and unstructured.

[0103] S102. The SMF entity determines indication information and association information, and determines at least one first target UPF entity based on the indication information and association information.

[0104] The indication information may be understood as a function selection condition for indicating a user plane function UPF entity. The associated information may be a parameter indicator for determining a UPF entity indicated in a PDU session protocol, as described in step S101.

[0105] For example, in this embodiment, after receiving the PDU session establishment request, the SMF entity can further determine the indication information and the associated information. And in combination with the function selection conditions indicated by the indication information (that is, when selecting the UPF entity, the functions that the UPF entity is expected to satisfy in terms of functionality) and the associated information, the UPF entity is screened to determine the UPF entity used for establishing the PDU session this time (that is, the first target UPF entity mentioned above). In one example, after the UPF entity is screened in combination with the associated information, the screened UPF entities can be further screened in combination with the indication information, wherein the method of screening the UPF entity according to the associated information is similar to that in the related art and is not limited here.

[0106] Furthermore, the UPF entity is jointly determined by combining the indication information and the associated information mentioned above, so that the determined first target UPF entity can not only meet the functional conditions of the PDU session establishment request, but also meet the remaining selection requirements in the session establishment request. For example, factors such as the distance between the UPF entity and the terminal device, the load of the UPF entity, etc. can be combined to improve the quality of session service ultimately provided to the terminal device as much as possible on the basis of meeting the functional conditions.

[0107] In a possible implementation, when determining the indication information, the indication information may be determined based on a record of historical PDU sessions of the terminal device.

[0108] In one possible implementation, the indication information can be determined by the terminal device according to the application scenario in which it is located and sent to the SMF entity, or it can be determined by the SMF entity according to the current application scenario of the terminal device.

[0109] In one possible implementation, the PDU session establishment request may carry indication information. The indication information includes: at least one business requirement and / or at least one capability requirement; wherein the business requirement is used to indicate the business that the terminal device needs to implement; the capability requirement is used to indicate the capability of the UPF entity required by the terminal device. That is, the function of the UPF entity in this embodiment can be measured from two perspectives, one aspect is the business that the UPF entity can implement, and the other aspect is the capability supported by the UPF entity, such as protocols and other content. The indication information may include at least one business requirement and / or at least one capability requirement, that is, the indication information may carry at least one business requirement, or the indication information may carry at least one capability requirement, or the indication information may carry at least one business requirement and at least one capability requirement.

[0110] Among them, service requirements can be used to indicate the services that the terminal device currently needs to implement. For example, in actual applications, services can include forwarding services, N4 management services, user plane management services, QoS services, local offload services, mobility management services, gating management services, billing services, etc. Alternatively, service requirements can include multiple requirements such as service type, network requirements, computing power requirements, security requirements, etc. In this embodiment, there is no limitation on the content of service requirements.

[0111] The capability requirements in this embodiment can be understood as the capabilities of the UPF entity required by the terminal device to establish this session. For example, in actual applications, the capabilities of the UPF entity can be the supported protocols (for example, the Openflow protocol), or the supported programming languages ​​​​(for example, the P4 language), or the capability requirements can also be the supported technologies (for example, Segment Routing IPv6 (SRv6) technology based on the IPv6 forwarding plane).

[0112] It can be understood that in this embodiment, by carrying the above-mentioned indication information in the PDU session establishment request, the SMF entity can quickly determine the UPF entity that meets the function selection conditions corresponding to the indication information, thereby improving the efficiency of PDU session establishment.

[0113] In one possible implementation, when the SMF entity can determine a UPF entity that meets all the requirements in the indication information, the UPF entity can be used as the final first target UPF entity.

[0114] In one possible implementation, the first target UPF entity determined by the SMF entity meets at least one business requirement and / or at least one capability requirement. If the SMF entity cannot match a UPF entity that meets all the requirements in the indication information, multiple UPF entities (i.e., multiple first target UPF entities) can be selected, where each UPF entity needs to meet at least one requirement contained in the indication information (i.e., the above-mentioned business requirement or capability requirement). Furthermore, by selecting multiple first target UPF entities as described above, all session establishment requirements of the terminal device can be met.

[0115] In one possible implementation, all first target UPF entities determined by the SMF entity need to meet all requirements in the indication information (the requirements here include the business requirements and functional requirements in the above-mentioned embodiment). Optionally, if all UPF entities determined by the SMF entity cannot support all requirements in the indication information, a notification message may be sent to the terminal device so that the terminal device determines whether to continue the PDU session establishment process.

[0116] It can be understood that, in this embodiment, all requirements in the indication information can be met by determining one or more first target UPF entities so as to meet the user's usage needs.

[0117] S103. The SMF entity establishes a PDU session based on the determined at least one first target UPF entity.

[0118] Exemplarily, in this embodiment, after determining at least one first target UPF entity, the SMF entity may continue to execute the PDU session establishment process based on all the determined first target UPF entities.

[0119] In one possible implementation, when establishing a PDU session, the following steps may be included: the SMF entity sends first tunnel information of at least one first target UPF entity to the access network device corresponding to the terminal device; and sends second tunnel information of the access network device to at least one first target UPF entity.

[0120] For example, in this embodiment, when the SMF entity establishes a PDU session, the first tunnel information corresponding to each of the determined first target UPF entities can be sent to the access network device corresponding to the terminal device, wherein the first tunnel information can also be referred to as core network (CN) tunnel information in actual applications, so that the access network device can subsequently perform uplink communication, that is, establish a communication link from the terminal device to the data network. In addition, the SMF entity will further send the second tunnel information corresponding to the access network device to each first target UPF entity to establish a downlink communication connection from the data network to the terminal device. Among them, the second tunnel information can also be referred to as access network (AN) tunnel information in actual applications, that is, the tunnel information in the access network device used to establish communication with the first target UPF entity. Furthermore, through the sending of the first tunnel information and the second tunnel information by the above-mentioned SMF entity, a complete communication link can be established between the terminal device and the data network to realize the corresponding communication service.

[0121] It can be understood that in this embodiment, when the SMF entity establishes a PDU session, it will first establish it according to the received PDU session request, determine the indication information, and filter out the UPF entity that meets the function selection conditions indicated by the indication information as the first target UPF entity according to the indication information as much as possible, so as to adapt to the situation where there are multiple UPF entities with different functions on the user plane. In some cases, the UPF entity selection method cannot select a suitable UPF entity to meet the needs of the terminal device.

[0122] FIG2 is a flow chart of another session processing method provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG2 , the method includes the following steps:

[0123] S201. The terminal device sends a PDU session establishment request to the SMF entity; the PDU session establishment request is used to request to establish a PDU session for the terminal device.

[0124] S202. The SMF entity determines indication information and association information, and determines at least one first target UPF entity based on the indication information and association information.

[0125] S203. The SMF entity establishes a PDU session based on the determined at least one first target UPF entity.

[0126] For example, steps S201 to S203 may refer to the description in FIG1 , which will not be repeated here.

[0127] S204. The terminal device sends a PDU session modification request to the SMF entity; wherein the PDU session modification request is sent when the terminal device determines that the indication information has changed.

[0128] For example, in this embodiment, as the application scenario and business scenario corresponding to the terminal device change, the UPF entity suitable for the terminal device to connect to the session may also change. Therefore, when the terminal device determines that the function selection condition currently used to select the UPF entity has changed, that is, when the indication information changes, it can send a PDU session modification request to the SMF entity.

[0129] In one possible implementation, when the terminal device detects that its required service requirements and / or capability requirements have changed, the changed indication information (i.e., update information) can be sent to the SMF entity via a PDU session modification request.

[0130] For example, when the terminal device perceives that one or more of its own service requirements have changed, or one or more capability requirements have changed, it can send a PDU session modification request to the SMF entity. Alternatively, when the terminal device perceives that at least one of its own service requirements and at least one capability requirement of the UPF entity have changed, the sending of the above-mentioned PDU session modification request can also be triggered.

[0131] S205. The SMF entity determines update information in response to the received PDU session modification request, and determines at least one second target UPF entity based on the update information. The update information indicates the result after the information is changed.

[0132] For example, after the SMF entity receives a PDU session modification request, it can determine the function selection conditions required by the terminal device this time (i.e., the updated information in this embodiment) by parsing the PDU session modification request, that is, the changes made compared to the indication information when the previous session was established.

[0133] After the SMF entity determines the update information, it can select the UPF entity based on the update information so as to screen out the UPF entity that meets the requirements indicated by the update information as much as possible (ie, the second target UPF entity mentioned above).

[0134] It should be noted that, in this embodiment, there is no limit on the number of second target UPF entities determined, and the number may be one or more. For example, when one UPF entity cannot meet all the requirements indicated by the update information, multiple UPF entities may be selected to meet the requirements of the terminal device as much as possible. Furthermore, the second target UPF entity determined in this embodiment may be the same as the first target UPF entity described above, or may be different from the first target UPF entity, which is not limited in this embodiment.

[0135] In one possible implementation, when determining the second target UPF entity based on the update information, the UPF entity can be screened with reference to the determination process of the first target UPF entity. For example, when screening the second target UPF entity, the UPF entity screening process can also be performed in combination with the associated information and update information carried in the PDU session modification request.

[0136] In one possible implementation, when determining the second target UPF entity, it is first possible to determine whether the first target UPF entity of the session established by the current terminal device satisfies the update information to determine whether a change of the target UPF entity is required. If all the first target UPF entities of the currently established session cannot satisfy the update information, it is determined that a change of the target UPF entity is required.

[0137] In one possible implementation, when determining the second target UPF entity, at least one second target UPF entity can also be determined based on the update information and at least one first target UPF entity. In this embodiment, when determining the second target UPF entity, the first target UPF entity of the session currently established by the terminal device can also be used as a factor in selecting the second target UPF entity. For example, when the first target UPF entity can still meet some or all of the requirements in the update information, the first target UPF entity can be used as the second target UPF entity, and for the remaining requirements that cannot be met by the first target UPF entities in the update information, screening can be performed among the UPF entities that are not currently connected to the terminal device, so that all the second target UPF entities finally determined can meet all the requirements in the update information as much as possible. It can be understood that in this embodiment, when selecting the second target UPF entity, the currently connected first target UPF entity can also be used as a consideration for selecting the second target UPF entity, so as to reduce the resources that need to be modified in the PDU session modification process.

[0138] S206. The SMF entity modifies the PDU session according to at least one second target UPF entity.

[0139] Exemplarily, after the SMF entity determines all second target UPF entities, a PDU session modification process can be further performed so that the terminal device can establish a communication connection with the data network through the second target UPF entity.

[0140] In one possible implementation, the first target UPF entity that is not selected as the second target UPF entity (for example, the first target UPF entity that cannot support the requirements in the update information) can also further trigger processing such as session resource release to avoid waste of resources of the first target UPF entity.

[0141] In a possible implementation, the process of modifying the PDU session may further include the following steps:

[0142] If the SMF entity determines that the second target UPF entity is different from the first target UPF entity corresponding to the PDU session, the third tunnel information of the second target UPF entity is sent to the access network device corresponding to the terminal device; and the fourth tunnel information of the access network device is sent to the second target UPF entity.

[0143] For example, in this embodiment, after the SMF determines the second target UPF entity, if it is determined that the second target UPF entity obtained this time is different from each first target UPF entity, then in order to ensure that the terminal device can establish communication with the data network based on the determined second target UPF entity, it is necessary to send the third tunnel information of the second target UPF entity determined this time to the access network device through the SMF entity, wherein the third tunnel information can be used to indicate the address information corresponding to the communication tunnel established by the second target UPF entity this time, so that the subsequent terminal device can establish uplink communication through the access network device and the third tunnel information received by the access network device. In addition, the access network device also needs to send the fourth tunnel information for establishing a communication tunnel with the second target UPF entity to the second target UPF entity through the SMF entity, so as to establish downlink communication from the data network to the terminal device. Furthermore, the third tunnel information and the fourth tunnel information are forwarded through the above-mentioned SMF entity to complete the modification of the PDU session.

[0144] It can be understood that in this embodiment, when the terminal device determines that the indication information needs to be changed, that is, the function selection conditions for filtering the UPF entity need to be changed, the terminal device can trigger the PDU session modification process so that the SMF entity can further select a UPF entity that is suitable for the changed function selection conditions of the terminal device.

[0145] FIG3 is a flow chart of a session establishment process provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG3 , the method includes the following steps:

[0146] S301. The terminal device sends a PDU session establishment request message to the AMF entity to initiate a PDU session establishment request to the network side.

[0147] Among them, the PDU session establishment request message is a NAS message, which may include at least one service requirement and / or at least one capability requirement desired by the terminal device, the PDU session identifier (identifier, ID) requested to be established, and may also include but not be limited to DNN, S-NSSAI and other information. Reference can be made to the relevant description in the embodiment shown in Figure 1.

[0148] That is, in this embodiment, the session establishment request may carry only service requirements, only capability requirements, or both service requirements and capability requirements. Furthermore, in this embodiment, there is no limit on the number of service requirements and capability requirements that may be carried in the session establishment request.

[0149] It should be noted that the session modification process shown in this embodiment is triggered by the terminal device. In actual application, it can also include the following triggering scenarios: (1) The PCF entity initiates the PDU session policy modification process and notifies the SMF entity to trigger the PDU session modification. (2) The UDM entity updates the user session contract data and notifies the SMF entity to trigger the PDU session modification. (3) The SMF local operation triggers or the SMF discovers an AMF failure, triggering the PDU session modification. (4) The access network device initiates the PDU session modification process. The principles of the four triggering scenarios here can be found in the description of the relevant technology and will not be repeated here.

[0150] S302. The AMF entity selects the SMF entity.

[0151] For example, in this embodiment, when the AMF entity determines that the terminal device needs to establish a session request, it can select an SMF entity according to the preset rules. The rules for selecting the SMF entity can refer to the rules in the relevant technology. For example, the SMF entity can be selected based on the slice information, DNN, etc. provided by the terminal device.

[0152] S303. The AMF entity sends an Nsmf_PDU session_establish session management (Session Management, SM) context request message to the SMF entity.

[0153] Exemplarily, the request message in this embodiment may carry at least one service requirement and / or at least one capability requirement carried in the session request message, so that the subsequent SMF entity can perform UPF entity screening.

[0154] S304. The SMF entity obtains the contract information from the UDM entity.

[0155] In this step, the SMF entity can extract the registration information and / or subscription information of the terminal device from the UDM entity. In addition, it can also establish a request to update the subscription information of the terminal device based on the PDU session initiated by the terminal device.

[0156] S305. The SMF entity sends an Nsmf_PDU session_establish SM context response message to the AMF entity, so as to inform the AMF entity whether the SM context is successfully established through the above response message.

[0157] S306: Perform PDU session authentication / authorization.

[0158] After the SM context is successfully established, the terminal device and each entity in the network complete the PDU session authentication / authorization in S306.

[0159] S307. The SMF entity selects the PCF entity.

[0160] Step S307 is an optional step.

[0161] S308. The SMF entity initiates the establishment of an SM policy association or the SMF entity initiates the SM policy association modification process.

[0162] In this step, the PCF entity can send policy control information to the SMF entity according to the request initiated by the SMF entity, including Policy and Charging Control (PCC) rules, Quality of Service (QoS) characteristics, etc.

[0163] S309. The SMF entity selects the UPF entity.

[0164] In this step, the SMF entity selects a UPF entity for the PDU session to establish a user plane transmission path for the PDU session. It should be noted that, in this embodiment, when selecting the UPF entity, the UPF entity can be selected in combination with the requirements carried in the session request message (for example, the service requirements and capability requirements in the above embodiment).

[0165] It should be noted that, in this embodiment, when selecting a UPF entity, a single UPF entity that meets all requirements contained in the instruction information may be selected, or multiple different UPF entities may be selected to meet all requirements in the instruction information. Alternatively, a UPF entity may carry multiple instruction information, and multiple different UPF entities may be selected to meet the multiple instruction information. The method for determining the UPF entity can be found in the description of the embodiment shown in FIG1 and will not be repeated here.

[0166] S310. The SMF entity initiates an SM policy association modification process to the PCF entity.

[0167] Among them, this step is an optional step so that the SMF entity can update the SM policy association.

[0168] S311. The SMF entity sends an N4 session establishment / modification request message to the selected UPF entity to establish an N4 session.

[0169] S312. The UPF entity returns an N4 session establishment / modification response message to the SMF entity.

[0170] S313. The SMF entity sends a Namf_communication_N1N2 message transmission message to the AMF entity.

[0171] The message sent in step S313 may carry a PDU session identifier, an N1 SM container, and N2 SM information. The N1 container may include the PDU session establishment result sent by the SMF entity to the terminal device, and the N2 SM information may include a resource establishment request message sent by the SMF entity to the (R)AN entity.

[0172] S314. The AMF entity sends an N2 PDU session request message to the (R)AN entity.

[0173] The message of this step may carry the CN tunnel information allocated by the UPF entity and the non-access stratum (NAS) message (message, msg), wherein the NAS message includes the PDU session ID and the N1 container (PDU session establishment acceptance message).

[0174] S315 : The (R)AN entity and the UE perform the step of establishing AN dedicated resources.

[0175] S316. The (R)AN entity returns an N2 PDU session request response message to the AMF entity.

[0176] The above-mentioned session response message may include PDU session ID, N2 SM information (such as AN tunnel information, QoS flow identifier (QFI), etc.). Then, the uplink data channel of the terminal device is established, and the terminal device can send uplink data through the above-mentioned uplink data channel.

[0177] S317. The AMF entity sends a Namf_PDU session_update SM context request message to the SMF entity.

[0178] The Namf_PDU session_update SM context request message sent in this step may carry the AN tunnel information of the (R)AN entity.

[0179] S318. The SMF entity initiates an N4 session modification request message to the UPF entity.

[0180] Among them, the N4 session modification request message in this step can carry AN tunnel information, so that the UPF entity can establish a downlink data channel after obtaining the AN tunnel information.

[0181] S319. The UPF entity sends an N4 session modification response message to the SMF entity.

[0182] S320. The SMF entity performs session registration with the UDM entity.

[0183] This step is used to register the PDU session established this time in the UDM entity.

[0184] S321. The SMF entity sends an Nsmf_PDU session_update SM context response message to the AMF entity.

[0185] S322. The SMF entity sends an Nsmf_PDU session_SM context status notification message to the AMF entity to subscribe to obtain mobility event notifications of the terminal device.

[0186] Optionally, if it is determined that the PDU session establishment is unsuccessful, the SMF entity will release the PDU session resources, as well as the created N4 session, the allocated PDU session address, and release the resources associated with the PDU session with the PCF entity.

[0187] Optionally, if the terminal device requests to establish a PDU session of Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6), the SMF entity may also initiate a step of configuring an IPv6 address to the terminal device through step S323.

[0188] S324. The SMF entity initiates the SM policy association modification process to the PCF entity.

[0189] Optionally, if the SMF entity determines that the PDU session establishment fails, the SMF entity may initiate a subscription cancellation / registration cancellation process to the UDM entity through step S325.

[0190] It can be understood that in this embodiment, by carrying at least one service requirement and / or at least one capability requirement in the PDU session establishment request message, the SMF entity can select an entity that meets the terminal device requirements from multiple UPF entities in the user plane when selecting a UPF entity.

[0191] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of a session modification process provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG4 , the method includes the following steps:

[0192] S401. The terminal device sends a PDU session modification request message to the AMF entity.

[0193] For example, in this embodiment, the triggering scenario for sending the PDU session modification request message may be a scenario in which the terminal device sends a change in the service requirements and / or functional requirements of the UPF entity required for the PDU session. Furthermore, the PDU session modification request message may carry at least one service requirement and / or at least one capability requirement that has changed compared to before the session modification. That is, when the service requirements of the terminal device change, or the capability requirements change, or both the service requirements and the capability requirements change, the session modification process may be triggered.

[0194] It should be noted that the above-mentioned PDU session modification request message is a NAS message.

[0195] S402. The AMF entity sends an Nsmf_PDU session_update SM context request message to the SMF entity. The message in this step may include a PDU session modification request sent by the terminal device.

[0196] In addition, the PDU session modification request in this embodiment carries the update information in the above embodiment, and the SMF entity will re-determine the second target UPF entity (referred to as UPF entity in the subsequent steps of this embodiment) based on the update information, and perform the following session modification process with each second target UPF entity.

[0197] S403. The SMF entity and the PCF entity perform an SM policy association modification process so that the PCF entity can modify the policy information.

[0198] S404. The SMF entity sends an Nsmf_PDU session_update SM context response to the AMF entity.

[0199] S405. The SMF entity and the AMF entity transmit N1 and N2 information.

[0200] S406: The AMF entity sends an N2 message to the (R)AN entity. The N2 message in this step may include the PDU session identifier and SM information. It should be noted that this step is optional.

[0201] S407: A dedicated resource modification process may be performed between the (R)AN entity and the terminal device, wherein PDU session modification resource modification and response may be performed in the modification process. It should be noted that this step is optional.

[0202] S408. The (R)AN entity sends an N2 message to the AMF entity to inform the N2 PDU session response.

[0203] S409. The AMF entity initiates an Nsmf_PDU session_update SM context request to the SMF entity.

[0204] S410. The SMF entity initiates an Nsmf_PDU session_update SM context response to the AMF entity.

[0205] S411. The SMF entity sends an N4 session modification message to the UPF entity, thereby updating the N4 session of the UPF entity involved in the PDU session modification. It should be noted that the UPF entity in this step is determined by the SMF entity based on all the service requirements and capability requirements carried in the PDU session modification request message.

[0206] S412. The UPF entity sends an N4 session modification response to the SMF entity.

[0207] In this embodiment, the N4 session modification process in the above steps S411 and S412 is performed so that the UPF entity can feed back its own third tunnel information to the access network device.

[0208] S413. The terminal device sends a PDU session modification command response message to the access network device.

[0209] S414. The access network device sends the above confirmation message to the AMF entity through the N2 NAS uplink transmission message.

[0210] S415. The AMF entity initiates an Nsmf_PDU session_update SM context request to the SMF entity.

[0211] S416. The SMF entity sends an Nsmf_PDU session_update SM context response to the AMF entity.

[0212] Among them, through steps S415 and S416, the N2 SM information, the location information of the terminal device and other information obtained from the (R)AN entity can be forwarded to the SMF entity.

[0213] S417. The SMF entity sends an N4 session modification message to the UPF entity.

[0214] S418. The UPF entity sends an N4 session modification response to the UPF entity.

[0215] Among them, step S417 and step S418 are performed to send the fourth tunnel information of the access network device to the UPF entity.

[0216] S419. The SMF entity executes the SM policy association modification step.

[0217] It can be understood that in this embodiment, by carrying update information in the PDU session modification request message, the SMF entity can select a UPF entity that meets the requirements of the terminal device from multiple UPF entities in the user plane when selecting a UPF entity.

[0218] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a session processing device provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure. The session processing device can be applied to an SMF entity. The session processing device includes: a memory 501, a transceiver 502, and a processor 503:

[0219] Memory 501, used for storing computer programs;

[0220] a transceiver 502 for transmitting and receiving data under the control of the processor 503;

[0221] In Figure 5 , the bus architecture can include any number of interconnected buses and bridges, linking together various circuits of one or more processors represented by processor 503 and memory 501. The bus architecture can also link together various other circuits, such as peripherals, voltage regulators, and power management circuits, all of which are well known in the art and, therefore, not further described herein. The bus interface provides an interface. The transceiver 502 can be multiple components, including a transmitter and a receiver, providing a means for communicating with various other devices over a transmission medium, such as a wireless channel, a wired channel, or an optical cable. The processor is responsible for managing the bus architecture and general processing, while the memory can store data used by the processor x10 when performing operations.

[0222] The processor 503 may be a central processing unit (CPU), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), or a complex programmable logic device (CPLD). The processor may also adopt a multi-core architecture.

[0223] The processor 503 is configured to read the computer program in the memory 501 and perform the following operations:

[0224] Determining indication information and associated information in response to a received protocol data unit (PDU) session establishment request, wherein the PDU session establishment request is used to request establishment of a PDU session for a terminal device;

[0225] Determine at least one first target UPF entity according to the indication information and the association information;

[0226] A PDU session is established based on at least one first target UPF entity.

[0227] In one example, the PDU session establishment request carries indication information; the indication information includes: at least one service requirement and / or at least one capability requirement;

[0228] Among them, business requirements are used to indicate the business that the terminal device needs to implement; capability requirements are used to indicate the capabilities of the UPF entity required by the terminal device.

[0229] In one example, the first target UPF entity satisfies at least one business requirement and / or at least one capability requirement.

[0230] In one example, at least one first target UPF entity meets all business requirements and all capability requirements in the indication information. In one example, the associated information includes: one or more of: network slice, data network name DNN, PDU session type, location information of terminal device, UPF entity load, and data network access identifier DNAI.

[0231] In one example, the processor is used to:

[0232] Control the transceiver to send first tunnel information of at least one first target UPF entity to the access network device corresponding to the terminal device;

[0233] Control the transceiver to send the second tunnel information of the access network device to at least one first target UPF entity. In one example, the processor is further configured to:

[0234] In response to the received PDU session modification request, determining update information; wherein the PDU session modification request is sent by the terminal device when determining that the indication information is changed; and the update information is a result of the indication information being changed;

[0235] Determining at least one second target UPF entity according to the update information;

[0236] The PDU session is modified according to at least one second target UPF entity.

[0237] In one example, the processor is used to:

[0238] If it is determined that the second target UPF entity is different from the first target UPF entity corresponding to the PDU session, the transceiver is controlled to send the third tunnel information of the second target UPF entity to the access network device corresponding to the terminal device;

[0239] Control the transceiver to send the fourth tunnel information of the access network device to the second target UPF entity.

[0240] In one example, the PDU session modification request carries update information; the processor is used to: determine at least one second target UPF entity based on the update information and at least one first target UPF entity.

[0241] FIG6 is a structural diagram of another session processing device provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure, which can be applied to a terminal device. As shown in FIG6 , the session processing device includes: a memory 601, a transceiver 602, and a processor 603:

[0242] Memory 601, used to store computer programs; transceiver 602, used to send and receive data under the control of processor 603;

[0243] In FIG6 , the bus architecture may include any number of interconnected buses and bridges, linking together various circuits of one or more processors represented by a processor and a memory represented by a memory. The bus architecture may also link together various other circuits such as peripherals, voltage regulators, and power management circuits, which are well known in the art and are therefore not further described herein. The bus interface provides an interface. The transceiver 602 may be a plurality of components, namely, a transmitter and a receiver, providing a unit for communicating with various other devices over a transmission medium, such as a wireless channel, a wired channel, an optical cable, and the like. For different user devices, the user interface 604 may also be an interface capable of connecting to external or internal devices as required, including but not limited to a keypad, a display, a speaker, a microphone, a joystick, and the like.

[0244] The processor 603 is responsible for managing the bus architecture and general processing, and the memory can store data used by the processor 603 when performing operations.

[0245] Optionally, the processor may be a CPU (central processing unit), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array) or a CPLD (Complex Programmable Logic Device), and the processor may also adopt a multi-core architecture.

[0246] The processor 603 is configured to execute any method provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure according to the obtained executable instructions by calling the program stored in the memory. The processor and the memory may also be arranged physically separately.

[0247] The processor 603 is configured to read the computer program in the memory and perform the following operations:

[0248] The control transceiver sends a PDU session establishment request to the SMF entity; wherein, the PDU session establishment request is used to indicate the determination of indication information and associated information, and establish a PDU session for the terminal device based on at least one first target UPF entity determined by the indication information and associated information.

[0249] In one example, the PDU session establishment request carries indication information; the indication information includes: at least one service requirement and / or at least one capability requirement;

[0250] Among them, business requirements are used to indicate the business that the terminal device needs to implement; capability requirements are used to indicate the capabilities of the UPF entity required by the terminal device.

[0251] In one example, the first target UPF entity satisfies at least one business requirement and / or at least one capability requirement.

[0252] In one example, at least one first target UPF entity meets all business requirements and all capability requirements in the indication information. In one example, the processor is further configured to:

[0253] If it is determined that the indication information required by the terminal device has changed, the control transceiver sends a PDU session modification request to the SMF entity; wherein, the PDU session modification request is used to indicate the determination of the updated information, and perform PDU session modification based on at least one second target UPF entity determined by the updated information; the updated information is used to indicate the changed content of the information.

[0254] In one example, the PDU session modification request carries update information; at least one second target UPF entity is determined based on the update information and at least one first target UPF entity.

[0255] It should be noted here that the above-mentioned device provided in the embodiment of the present disclosure can implement all the method steps implemented in the above-mentioned method embodiment and can achieve the same technical effect. The parts and beneficial effects of this embodiment that are the same as those in the method embodiment will not be repeated here.

[0256] FIG7 is a schematic diagram of the structure of another session processing device provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure. This device may correspond to the SMF entity in the above method embodiment. The device is configured in the SMF entity or the device is the SMF entity itself. The device 700 includes a processing unit 701, a transceiver unit 702, and a storage unit 703. The storage unit 703 can store data used by the processing unit 701 when performing operations.

[0257] The transceiver unit 702 is configured to receive a protocol data unit (PDU) session establishment request; the PDU session establishment request is used to request establishment of a PDU session for a terminal device;

[0258] The processing unit 701 is used to determine indication information and associated information, and determine at least one first target UPF entity based on the indication information and associated information; and establish a PDU session based on the at least one first target UPF entity.

[0259] In a possible implementation, the PDU session establishment request carries indication information; the indication information includes: at least one service requirement and / or at least one capability requirement;

[0260] Among them, business requirements are used to indicate the business that the terminal device needs to implement; capability requirements are used to indicate the capabilities of the UPF entity required by the terminal device.

[0261] In one possible implementation, the first target UPF entity meets at least one business requirement and / or at least one capability requirement.

[0262] In one possible implementation, at least one first target UPF entity meets all business requirements and all capability requirements in the indication information.

[0263] In one possible implementation, the associated information includes: one or more of: network slice, data network name DNN, PDU session type, location information of terminal device, UPF entity load, and data network access identifier DNAI;

[0264] Determine at least one first target UPF entity based on the association information and the indication information.

[0265] In one possible implementation, the processing unit 701 is configured to:

[0266] Sending first tunnel information of at least one first target UPF entity to the access network device corresponding to the terminal device;

[0267] Send second tunnel information of the access network device to at least one first target UPF entity.

[0268] In a possible implementation, the processing unit 701 is further configured to:

[0269] In response to the received PDU session modification request, determining update information; wherein the PDU session modification request is sent by the terminal device when determining that the indication information is changed; and the update information is a result of the indication information being changed;

[0270] Determining at least one second target UPF entity according to the update information;

[0271] The PDU session is modified according to at least one second target UPF entity.

[0272] In one possible implementation, the processing unit 701 is configured to:

[0273] If it is determined that the second target UPF entity is different from the first target UPF entity corresponding to the PDU session, the third tunnel information of the second target UPF entity is sent to the access network device corresponding to the terminal device;

[0274] Send the fourth tunnel information of the access network device to the second target UPF entity.

[0275] In one possible implementation, the PDU session modification request carries update information; the processing unit is used to: determine at least one second target UPF entity based on the update information and at least one first target UPF entity.

[0276] The technical effects and technical principles of this embodiment can be found in the description of the above embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0277] Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of the structure of another session processing device provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure. This device may correspond to the terminal device in the method embodiment above. The device is configured in the terminal device or is the terminal device itself. The device 800 includes a processing unit 801, a transceiver unit 802, and a storage unit 8030. The storage unit 803 can store data used by the processing unit 801 when performing operations.

[0278] The processing unit 801 is configured to determine indication information and associated information;

[0279] The transceiver unit 802 is used to send a PDU session establishment request to the SMF entity; wherein the PDU session establishment request is used to indicate the determination of indication information and associated information, and to establish a PDU session for the terminal device based on at least one first target UPF entity determined by the indication information and associated information.

[0280] In a possible implementation, the PDU session establishment request carries indication information; the indication information includes: at least one service requirement and / or at least one capability requirement;

[0281] Among them, business requirements are used to indicate the business that the terminal device needs to implement; capability requirements are used to indicate the capabilities of the UPF entity required by the terminal device.

[0282] In one possible implementation, the first target UPF entity meets at least one business requirement and / or at least one capability requirement.

[0283] In one possible implementation, at least one first target UPF entity meets all business requirements and all capability requirements in the indication information.

[0284] In one possible implementation, the transceiver unit 802 is further configured to:

[0285] If it is determined that the indication information required by the terminal device has changed, a PDU session modification request is sent to the SMF entity; wherein, the PDU session modification request is used to indicate the determination of the update information, and perform PDU session modification based on at least one second target UPF entity determined by the update information; the update information is used to indicate the changed content of the indication information.

[0286] In one possible implementation, the PDU session modification request carries update information; at least one second target UPF entity is determined based on the update information and at least one first target UPF entity.

[0287] It should be noted that the division of units in the embodiments shown in Figures 7 and 8 is schematic and is merely a logical functional division. In actual implementation, other division methods may be used. Furthermore, the functional units in the various embodiments of the present disclosure may be integrated into a single processing unit, or each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into a single unit. The aforementioned integrated units may be implemented in the form of hardware or software functional units.

[0288] If the integrated unit is implemented in the form of a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a processor-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present disclosure, or the part that contributes to the relevant technology, or all or part of the technical solution can be embodied in the form of a software product. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes a number of instructions for causing a computer device (which can be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) or a processor to execute all or part of the steps of the various embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0289] It should be noted here that the above-mentioned device provided in the embodiment of the present disclosure can implement all the method steps implemented in the above-mentioned method embodiment and can achieve the same technical effect. The parts and beneficial effects of this embodiment that are the same as those in the method embodiment will not be repeated here.

[0290] An embodiment of the present disclosure also provides a processor-readable storage medium, which stores a computer program. The computer program is used to enable the processor to implement all the method steps implemented in the above-mentioned method embodiment and to achieve the same technical effect. The parts and beneficial effects of this embodiment that are the same as those in the method embodiment will not be repeated here.

[0291] The processor-readable storage medium can be any available medium or data storage device that can be accessed by the processor, including but not limited to magnetic storage (such as floppy disks, hard disks, magnetic tapes, magneto-optical disks (MO)), optical storage (such as CDs, DVDs, BDs, HVDs, etc.), and semiconductor storage (such as ROMs, EPROMs, EEPROMs, non-volatile memories (NAND FLASH), solid-state drives (SSDs)), etc.

[0292] According to the method provided in the embodiment of the present disclosure, the present disclosure also provides a computer program product, which includes: computer program code (or instructions). When the computer program code is executed by one or more processors, the device including the processor can implement all the method steps implemented in the above-mentioned method embodiment and can achieve the same technical effect. The parts and beneficial effects of this embodiment that are the same as those in the method embodiment will not be repeated here.

[0293] 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 and optical storage, etc.) containing computer-usable program code.

[0294] 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 embodiments of 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-executable instructions. These computer-executable 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.

[0295] These processor-executable instructions may also be stored in a processor-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 processor-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.

[0296] 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 session processing method, wherein: Applied to a session management function (SMF) entity, the method includes: Determining indication information and associated information in response to a received protocol data unit (PDU) session establishment request, wherein the PDU session establishment request is used to request establishment of a PDU session for a terminal device; Determine at least one first target UPF entity according to the indication information and the association information; A PDU session is established based on the at least one first target UPF entity.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein The PDU session establishment request carries the indication information; the indication information includes: at least one service requirement and / or at least one capability requirement; Among them, the business requirements are used to indicate the business that the terminal device needs to implement; the capability requirements are used to indicate the capabilities of the UPF entity required by the terminal device.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein: The first target UPF entity meets at least one of the business requirements and / or at least one of the capability requirements.

4. The method according to claim 2, wherein: The at least one first target UPF entity meets all business requirements and all capability requirements in the indication information.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein The associated information includes: one or more of: network slice, data network name DNN, PDU session type, location information of the terminal device, UPF entity load, and data network access identifier DNAI.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein Establishing a PDU session based on the at least one first target UPF entity includes: Sending first tunnel information of the at least one first target UPF entity to the access network device corresponding to the terminal device; Send the second tunnel information of the access network device to the at least one first target UPF entity.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein The method further comprises: Determining update information in response to a received PDU session modification request; wherein the PDU session modification request is sent by the terminal device when determining that the indication information is changed; and the update information is a result of the change of the indication information; Determining at least one second target UPF entity according to the update information; The PDU session is modified according to the at least one second target UPF entity.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein: Modifying the PDU session according to the at least one second target UPF entity includes: If it is determined that the second target UPF entity is different from the first target UPF entity corresponding to the PDU session, sending the third tunnel information of the second target UPF entity to the access network device corresponding to the terminal device; Send the fourth tunnel information of the access network device to the second target UPF entity.

9. The method according to claim 7, wherein: The PDU session modification request carries the update information; Determining at least one second target UPF entity according to the update information includes: At least one second target UPF entity is determined based on the update information and the at least one first target UPF entity.

10. A session processing method, wherein: Applied to a terminal device, the method includes: Send a PDU session establishment request to the SMF entity; wherein the PDU session establishment request is used to indicate the determination of indication information and association information, and establish a PDU session for the terminal device based on at least one first target UPF entity determined by the indication information and the association information.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein: The PDU session establishment request carries the indication information; the indication information includes: at least one service requirement and / or at least one capability requirement; Among them, the business requirements are used to indicate the business that the terminal device needs to implement; the capability requirements are used to indicate the capabilities of the UPF entity required by the terminal device.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein The first target UPF entity meets at least one of the business requirements and / or at least one of the capability requirements.

13. The method according to claim 11, wherein The at least one first target UPF entity meets all business requirements and all capability requirements in the indication information.

14. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 13, wherein: The method further comprises: If it is determined that the indication information required by the terminal device has changed, a PDU session modification request is sent to the SMF entity; wherein the PDU session modification request is used to indicate the determination of the update information, and perform PDU session modification based on at least one second target UPF entity determined by the update information; the update information is used to indicate the change content of the indication information.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein The PDU session modification request carries the update information; the at least one second target UPF entity is determined based on the update information and the at least one first target UPF entity.

16. A conversation processing device, wherein: Including memory, transceiver, processor: Memory for storing computer programs; a transceiver, configured to transmit and receive data under the control of the processor; A processor is configured to read the computer program in the memory and perform the following operations: Determining indication information and associated information in response to a received protocol data unit (PDU) session establishment request, wherein the PDU session establishment request is used to request establishment of a PDU session for a terminal device; Determine at least one first target UPF entity according to the indication information and the association information; A PDU session is established based on the at least one first target UPF entity.

17. The device according to claim 16, wherein The PDU session establishment request carries the indication information; the indication information includes: at least one service requirement and / or at least one capability requirement; Among them, the business requirements are used to indicate the business that the terminal device needs to implement; the capability requirements are used to indicate the capabilities of the UPF entity required by the terminal device.

18. The device according to claim 17, wherein The first target UPF entity meets at least one of the business requirements and / or at least one of the capability requirements.

19. The device according to claim 17, wherein The at least one first target UPF entity meets all business requirements and all capability requirements in the indication information.

20. The apparatus according to claim 16, wherein The associated information includes: one or more of: network slice, data network name DNN, PDU session type, location information of the terminal device, UPF entity load, and data network access identifier DNAI.

21. The apparatus according to claim 16, wherein The processor is configured to: Controlling the transceiver to send the first tunnel information of the at least one first target UPF entity to the access network device corresponding to the terminal device; Control the transceiver to send the second tunnel information of the access network device to the at least one first target UPF entity.

22. The device according to any one of claims 16 to 21, wherein: The processor is further configured to: Determining update information in response to a received PDU session modification request; wherein the PDU session modification request is sent by the terminal device when determining that the indication information is changed; and the update information is a result of the change of the indication information; Determining at least one second target UPF entity according to the update information; The PDU session is modified according to the at least one second target UPF entity.

23. The device according to claim 22, wherein The processor is configured to: If it is determined that the second target UPF entity is different from the first target UPF entity corresponding to the PDU session, controlling the transceiver to send third tunnel information of the second target UPF entity to the access network device corresponding to the terminal device; Control the transceiver to send the fourth tunnel information of the access network device to the second target UPF entity.

24. The apparatus according to claim 22, wherein The PDU session modification request carries the update information; and the processor is configured to: At least one second target UPF entity is determined based on the update information and the at least one first target UPF entity.

25. A conversation processing device, wherein: Including memory, transceiver, processor: Memory for storing computer programs; a transceiver, configured to transmit and receive data under the control of the processor; A processor is configured to read the computer program in the memory and perform the following operations: Control the transceiver to send a PDU session establishment request to the SMF entity; wherein the PDU session establishment request is used to indicate the determination of indication information and association information, and establish a PDU session for the terminal device based on at least one first target UPF entity determined by the indication information and the association information.

26. The device according to claim 25, wherein The PDU session establishment request carries the indication information; the indication information includes: at least one service requirement and / or at least one capability requirement; Among them, the business requirements are used to indicate the business that the terminal device needs to implement; the capability requirements are used to indicate the capabilities of the UPF entity required by the terminal device.

27. The device according to claim 26, wherein The first target UPF entity meets at least one of the business requirements and / or at least one of the capability requirements.

28. The apparatus according to claim 26, wherein The at least one first target UPF entity meets all business requirements and all capability requirements in the indication information.

29. The device according to any one of claims 25 to 28, wherein The processor is further configured to: If it is determined that the indication information required by the terminal device has changed, the transceiver is controlled to send a PDU session modification request to the SMF entity; wherein, the PDU session modification request is used to indicate the determination of update information, and perform PDU session modification based on at least one second target UPF entity determined by the update information; the update information is used to indicate the change content of the indication information.

30. The apparatus according to claim 29, wherein The PDU session modification request carries the update information; the at least one second target UPF entity is determined based on the update information and the at least one first target UPF entity.

31. A conversation processing device, wherein: Applicable to a session management function (SMF) entity, the device includes: The transceiver unit is configured to receive a protocol data unit (PDU) session establishment request; the PDU session establishment request is used to request establishment of a PDU session for a terminal device; A processing unit is used to determine indication information and association information, and determine at least one first target UPF entity based on the indication information and the association information; and establish a PDU session based on the at least one first target UPF entity.

32. A conversation processing device, wherein: Applied to terminal equipment, the device includes: a processing unit, configured to determine indication information and associated information; A transceiver unit is used to send a PDU session establishment request to an SMF entity; wherein the PDU session establishment request is used to indicate the determination of the indication information and the association information, and to establish a PDU session for the terminal device based on at least one first target UPF entity determined by the indication information and the association information.

33. A non-transitory readable storage medium, wherein: The non-transitory readable storage medium stores a computer program, and the computer program is used to enable a processor to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 15.

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