Service identification method and apparatus, and network device and storage medium

Abstract

Disclosed in the embodiments of the present disclosure are a service identification method and apparatus, and a network device and a storage medium. The method comprises: a first network function receiving first information of a first function, wherein the first information comprises at least one of the following: identification information of a quick UDP Internet connection (QUIC), ID information of the QUIC, service flow description information, quality of service (QoS) information, and a terminal address; and generating policy information on the basis of the first information, and sending the policy information to a second network function, wherein the policy information at least comprises one or more of the following: the identification information of the QUIC, and the ID information of the QUIC.

Description

A service identification method, device, network equipment and storage medium

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This disclosure claims priority to Chinese patent application number 202410404964.6 filed in China on April 3, 2024, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] The present disclosure relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a service identification method, apparatus, network equipment, and storage medium. Background Art

[0004] Currently, the fifth-generation mobile communication technology (5G) network supports extended reality (XR) services, especially when used at high speeds. In XR services, the endpoint is not the user equipment (UE), but rather an XR device connected to the UE, referred to as a tethered UE. For example, an augmented reality (AR) headset connected to a mobile phone. Currently, there is no effective solution for distinguishing traffic between the UE and devices connected to it. Summary of the Invention

[0005] To solve the technical problems existing in related technologies, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a service identification method, apparatus, network device and storage medium.

[0006] To achieve the above objectives, the technical solution of the embodiment of the present disclosure is implemented as follows:

[0007] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a service identification method, which is applied to a first network function and includes:

[0008] The first network function receives first information of the first function, where the first information includes at least one of the following: identification information of a Quick User Datagram Protocol (UDP) network connection (QUIC); QUIC connection ID information; service flow description information; Quality of Service (QoS) information; and a terminal address.

[0009] The first network function generates policy information based on the first information and sends the policy information to the second network function. The policy information includes at least one or more of the following: identification information of the QUIC connection and QUIC connection ID information.

[0010] In the above solution, the first network function receives the first information of the first function, including:

[0011] The first network function directly receives the first information sent by the first function; or

[0012] The first network function receives the first information sent by the first function via the fourth network function.

[0013] In the above solution, the first network function is a policy control function (PCF); and / or,

[0014] The second network function is a session management function (SMF).

[0015] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a service identification method, which is applied to a second network function, and the method includes:

[0016] The second network function receives policy information sent by the first network function, where the policy information includes at least one or more of the following: identification information of the QUIC connection and QUIC connection ID information;

[0017] The second network function sends second information to the third network function based on the policy information, where the second information includes policy or rule information for traffic identification related to the QUIC connection.

[0018] In the above solution, the second information includes one or more of the following:

[0019] QUIC connection identification information; QUIC connection ID information; Packet Filters; Packet Filter information containing QUIC connection information; Service flow description information; QoS information; Terminal address.

[0020] In the above solution, the method further includes: the second network function receiving third information sent by the third network function, where the third information includes at least one of the following:

[0021] Data related to the QUIC connection was detected; measurement information about data related to the QUIC connection; data usage related to the QUIC connection; Tethered UE data was detected.

[0022] In the above solution, the method further includes: the second network function receiving fourth information sent by the third network function; the fourth information is flow information or characteristic information of a data flow having identification information of the QUIC connection and / or QUIC connection ID information;

[0023] The second network function generates charging related information according to the fourth information.

[0024] In the above solution, the second network function is a session management function (SMF); and / or,

[0025] The first network function is a policy control function (PCF); and / or,

[0026] The third network function is a user plane function (UPF).

[0027] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a service identification method, which is applied to a third network function, and the method includes:

[0028] The third network function receives second information sent by the second network function, where the second information includes policy or rule information for traffic identification related to the QUIC connection;

[0029] The third network function identifies and / or processes the traffic based on the second information.

[0030] In the above solution, the second information includes one or more of the following:

[0031] QUIC connection identification information; QUIC connection ID information; Packet Filters; Packet Filter information containing QUIC connection information; Service flow description information; QoS information; Terminal address.

[0032] In the above solution, the third network function identifies and / or processes the traffic based on the second information, including one or more of the following:

[0033] The third network function detects the downlink data based on the identification information of the QUIC connection or the QUIC connection ID information, and allocates or maps the data to the QoS flow;

[0034] The third network function detects the uplink data based on the identification information of the QUIC connection or the QUIC connection ID information;

[0035] The third network function detects uplink data or downlink data based on the identification information of the QUIC connection or the QUIC connection ID information, and reports it to the second network function.

[0036] In the above solution, the reporting to the second network function includes:

[0037] The third network function sends third information to the second network function, and the third information includes at least one of the following: detection of data related to the QUIC connection; measurement information of data related to the QUIC connection; data usage related to the QUIC connection; detection of Tethered UE data.

[0038] In the above solution, the reporting to the second network function includes: the third network function sending fourth information to the second network function, and the fourth information is traffic information of the data flow or characteristic information of the data flow.

[0039] In the above solution, the third network function is a user plane function UPF; and / or,

[0040] The second network function is a session management function SMF.

[0041] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a service identification device, which is applied to a first network function and includes: a first communication unit and a first processing unit; wherein,

[0042] The first communication unit is configured to receive first information of a first function, the first information including at least one of the following: identification information of a QUIC connection; QUIC connection ID information; service flow description information; quality of service QoS information; and a terminal address.

[0043] The first processing unit is used to generate policy information based on the first information and send the policy information to the second network function, where the policy information includes at least one or more of the following: identification information of the QUIC connection and QUIC connection ID information.

[0044] In the fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure also provides a service identification device, which is applied to a second network function, and the device includes: a second communication unit, used to receive policy information sent by the first network function, and the policy information includes at least one or more of the following: identification information of the QUIC connection, QUIC connection ID information; and is also used to send second information to a third network function based on the policy information, and the second information includes policy or rule information for traffic identification related to the QUIC connection.

[0045] In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a service identification device, which is applied to a third network function and includes: a third communication unit and a third processing unit; wherein,

[0046] the third communication unit being configured to receive second information sent by the second network function, the second information comprising policy or rule information for traffic identification related to the QUIC connection;

[0047] The third processing unit is configured to identify and / or process traffic based on the second information.

[0048] In the seventh aspect, the embodiments of the present disclosure further provide a computer-readable storage medium on which a computer program is stored, which, when executed by a processor, implements the steps of the business identification method described in the first aspect, second aspect or third aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0049] In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a network device, comprising a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored in the memory and executable on the processor, wherein when the processor executes the program, the steps of the service identification method described in the first, second, or third aspect of the embodiment of the present disclosure are implemented.

[0050] In a ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a computer program product, comprising computer program instructions, which enable a communication device to execute the steps of the service identification method as described in the first aspect, second aspect or third aspect of the embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0051] The service identification method, apparatus, network device and storage medium provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure include: a first network function receives first information of a first function, the first information including at least one of the following: identification information of a Quick UDP Internet Connection (QUIC) connection; QUIC connection ID information; service flow description information; quality of service (QoS) information; terminal address; the first network function generates policy information based on the first information, and sends the policy information to a second network function, the policy information including at least one or more of the following: identification information of the QUIC connection and QUIC connection ID information; the second network function sends second information to a third network function based on the policy information, the second information including policy or rule information for traffic identification related to the QUIC connection; the third network function identifies and / or processes the traffic based on the second information. In this way, the technical solution of the embodiments of the present disclosure is adopted to identify the traffic of an external terminal (tethered UE) connected to the terminal based on the identification information of the QUIC connection and / or the QUIC connection ID information, thereby achieving traffic differentiation between the terminal and the external terminal, and further providing technical support for subsequent QoS processing and billing. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0052] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of an application system architecture of a service identification method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0053] FIG2 is a flow chart of a service identification method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0054] FIG3 is a second flow chart of the service identification method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0055] FIG4 is a third flow chart of the service identification method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0056] FIG5 is a schematic diagram of an interaction process of a service identification method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0057] FIG6 is a schematic diagram of the first structure of a service identification device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0058] FIG7 is a second schematic diagram of the structure of the service identification device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0059] FIG8 is a third schematic diagram of the structure of the service identification device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0060] FIG9 is a schematic diagram of the hardware structure of the network device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0061] The present disclosure will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

[0062] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present disclosure can be applied to various communication systems, such as the Global System of Mobile communication (GSM) system, the Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, or the 5G system. Optionally, the 5G system or 5G network may also be referred to as a New Radio (NR) system or NR network.

[0063] Exemplarily, the communication system applied in the embodiments of the present disclosure may include a network device and a terminal device (also referred to as a terminal, a communication terminal, etc.); the network device may be a device that communicates with the terminal device. Among them, the network device can provide communication coverage within a certain area and can communicate with terminals located in the area. Optionally, the network device can be a base station in each communication system, such as an evolved base station (Evolutional Node B, eNB) in an LTE system, or a base station (the next Generation Node B, gNB) in a 5G system or an NR system.

[0064] It should be understood that in the embodiments of the present disclosure, devices with communication functions in a network / system may be referred to as communication devices. Communication devices may include network devices and terminals with communication functions. The network devices and terminal devices may be the specific devices described above and will not be described in detail here. Communication devices may also include other devices in the communication system, such as network controllers, mobility management entities, and other network entities, which are not limited in the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0065] It should be understood that the terms "system" and "network" are often used interchangeably herein. The term "and / or" is simply a description of an association between related objects, indicating that three possible relationships exist. For example, "A and / or B" can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, or B exists alone. Furthermore, the character " / " generally indicates that the related objects are in an "or" relationship.

[0066] The terms "first," "second," and the like in the specification and claims of the present disclosure are used to distinguish similar objects and are not necessarily used to describe a particular order or sequential sequence. It should be understood that the terms used in this manner are interchangeable where appropriate, so that the embodiments of the present disclosure described herein can, for example, be implemented in an order other than those illustrated or described herein. In addition, the terms "including" and "having," and any variations thereof, are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions, e.g., a process, method, system, product, or apparatus comprising a series of steps or units is not necessarily limited to those steps or units explicitly listed, but may include other steps or units that are not explicitly listed or that are inherent to these processes, methods, products, or apparatus.

[0067] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the application system architecture of the service identification method of an embodiment of the present disclosure; as shown in Figure 1, the system may include: UE and an external UE (tethered UE). In the XR service, the external UE (tethered UE) may be an XR device, such as AR glasses, virtual reality (VR) glasses, and the like. Among them, the UE can access the radio access network (Radio Access Network, RAN) through a mobile communication network (such as a 5G network). The external UE (tethered UE) can establish a connection with the UE in a wired or wireless manner, and the wireless connection method is, for example, Bluetooth (bluetooth), Wi-Fi, etc. This embodiment does not limit the connection method between the UE and the external UE (tethered UE).

[0068] On the data plane, the RAN connects to the User Plane Function (UPF), which in turn connects to the Application Server (AS). Consequently, uplink and / or downlink data plane transmission can be performed between the UE and the AS. In other optional embodiments, the system may also include other network functions, such as the Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), the Session Management Function (SMF), and the Network Exposure Function (NEF). The system may also include an Application Function (AF), which are not shown in Figure 1.

[0069] When a tethered UE connects to a UE and generates uplink traffic, the UE replaces the source address of the tethered UE's uplink traffic (the source address is the tethered UE's Internet Protocol (IP) address) with the UE's address (the UE's IP address). A port number may be assigned to help the UE identify the tethered UE's traffic. Therefore, the RAN and core network cannot identify the tethered UE or its traffic.

[0070] Based on the above problems, in an embodiment of the present disclosure, it is proposed to use a QUIC connection ID (or a QUIC connection identifier, QUIC connection information, etc.) to identify an external UE (tethered UE) or the traffic of an external UE (tethered UE).

[0071] The present disclosure provides a service identification method. FIG2 is a flow chart of the service identification method according to the present disclosure. As shown in FIG2 , the method includes:

[0072] Step 101: A first network function receives first information of a first function, where the first information includes at least one of the following: identification information of a QUIC connection; QUIC connection ID information; service flow description information; QoS information; and a terminal address.

[0073] Step 102: The first network function generates policy information based on the first information and sends the policy information to the second network function. The policy information includes at least one or more of the following: identification information of the QUIC connection and QUIC connection ID information.

[0074] The methods of the various embodiments of the present disclosure can be applied to the system architecture shown in Figure 1. As shown in Figure 1, before executing the various embodiments of the present disclosure, the terminal initiates a protocol data unit (PDU) session establishment process; after the PDU session is established, the external UE (tethered UE) connected to the terminal initiates a request to establish a QUIC connection with the AS, and based on the QUIC connection establishment process, a QUIC connection ID (or referred to as the identifier of the QUIC connection, QUIC connection information, etc.) is allocated, then both AS and AF can obtain the QUIC connection ID (or referred to as the identifier of the QUIC connection, QUIC connection information, etc.) of the QUIC connection corresponding to the external UE (tethered UE), that is, this embodiment is executed when the QUIC connection ID (or referred to as the identifier of the QUIC connection, QUIC connection information, etc.) exists.

[0075] In this embodiment, the terminal address refers to the address of a terminal accessing a wireless access network, and as shown in FIG1 , it refers to the address of a UE.

[0076] In this embodiment, the service flow description information may also be referred to as packet flow description (PFD) information.

[0077] In some optional embodiments, the first network function is a policy control function (PCF); and / or the second network function is an SMF.

[0078] In this embodiment, the first function may specifically be an AF. The AF may send a request message that may include the first information. The request message may be used to request the first network function to generate responsive policy information. After receiving the first information, the first network function generates policy information based on the first information. If the first network function is a PCF, the policy information may be, for example, Policy Control and Charging (PCC) information.

[0079] In some optional embodiments, when the first information includes identification information of the QUIC connection and / or QUIC connection ID information, the first network function generates policy information related to the QUIC connection based on the first information, that is, generates policy information related to an external UE (tethered UE) related to the QUIC connection. The policy information is used to identify the external UE (tethered UE) or traffic of the external UE (tethered UE).

[0080] In this embodiment, the first network function may be the PCF of the 5G network. In other optional embodiments, the first network function may also be other network functions, network devices or entities of other mobile communication systems that can be used to perform policy control and provide policy rules.

[0081] In this embodiment, the second network function may be the SMF of the 5G network. In other optional embodiments, the second network function may also be other network functions, network devices or entities of other mobile communication systems that can be used for session management.

[0082] In some optional embodiments, the first network function receiving the first information of the first function includes: the first network function directly receiving the first information sent by the first function; or the first network function receiving the first information sent by the first function via a fourth network function.

[0083] In this embodiment, when the first function is AF, the first network function can directly receive the first information sent by AF. In other optional embodiments, the first information of AF can also be sent to the fourth network function first, and then sent to the first network function by the fourth network function.

[0084] In this embodiment, the fourth network function may be the NEF of the 5G network. In other optional embodiments, the fourth network function may also be other network functions, network devices or entities of other mobile communication systems that can be used to open network capabilities or provide standard interfaces.

[0085] Based on the above embodiment, the present disclosure also provides a service identification method. FIG3 is a second flow chart of the service identification method of the present disclosure embodiment; as shown in FIG3 , the method includes:

[0086] Step 201: The second network function receives policy information sent by the first network function, where the policy information includes at least one or more of the following: identification information of the QUIC connection and QUIC connection ID information;

[0087] Step 201: The second network function sends second information to the third network function based on the policy information, where the second information includes policy or rule information for traffic identification related to the QUIC connection.

[0088] In some optional embodiments, the second network function is SMF; and / or, the first network function is PCF; and / or, the third network function is UPF.

[0089] In this embodiment, the first network function may be the PCF of the 5G network. In other optional embodiments, the first network function may also be other network functions, network devices or entities of other mobile communication systems that can be used to perform policy control and provide policy rules.

[0090] In this embodiment, the second network function may be the SMF of the 5G network. In other optional embodiments, the second network function may also be other network functions, network devices or entities of other mobile communication systems that can be used for session management.

[0091] In this embodiment, the third network function may be the UPF of the 5G network. In other optional embodiments, the third network function may also be other network functions, network devices or entities of other mobile communication systems that can be used for user plane data routing and forwarding.

[0092] In this embodiment, the second network function receives policy information sent by the first network function and generates policy or rule information related to user plane data or a session based on the policy information. The policy or rule information is recorded as the second information. The second network function then sends the second information to the third network function, so that the third network function identifies and / or processes the user plane data (uplink data and / or downlink data) based on the second information.

[0093] The second information may include policy or rule information for traffic identification related to the QUIC connection. For example, the second information may include, but is not limited to, one or more of a packet detection rule (PDR), a forwarding action rule (FAR), a QoS enforcement rule (QER), and a usage reporting rule (URR) related to the QUIC connection.

[0094] In some optional embodiments, the second information includes one or more of the following: identification information of the QUIC connection; QUIC connection ID information; packet filters; packet filter information containing QUIC connection information; service flow description information; QoS information; and terminal address.

[0095] In this embodiment, the service flow description information may also be referred to as packet flow description (PFD) information.

[0096] In some optional embodiments of the present disclosure, the method further includes: the second network function receives third information sent by the third network function, and the third information includes at least one of the following: detection of data related to the QUIC connection; measurement information of data related to the QUIC connection; data usage related to the QUIC connection; detection of Tethered UE data.

[0097] In this embodiment, after receiving the second information, the third network function may identify and / or process the user plane data (or uplink traffic and / or downlink traffic) based on the second information. As an example, the third network function may identify the data or traffic related to the QUIC connection (or the data or traffic that carries or has the identification information of the QUIC connection and / or the QUIC connection ID information) based on the second information. As another example, the third network function may identify the data or traffic based on the second information, measure the identified data or traffic, and thereby report the measurement information of the data or traffic related to the QUIC connection (or the data or traffic that carries or has the identification information of the QUIC connection and / or the QUIC connection ID information) through the third information, such as measuring or detecting the data usage of the data or traffic related to the QUIC connection (or the data or traffic that carries or has the identification information of the QUIC connection or the QUIC connection ID information), etc. As another example, since the QUIC connection is associated with an external UE (tethered UE), the third network function may identify the data or traffic based on the second information, mainly based on the identification information of the QUIC connection and / or the QUIC connection ID information, thereby identifying or detecting the identification information and / or the QUIC connection ID information, and then determining that the Tethered UE data is detected.

[0098] In some optional embodiments of the present disclosure, the method also includes: the second network function receives fourth information sent by the third network function; the fourth information is traffic information of a data flow or characteristic information of a data flow having identification information of a QUIC connection and / or QUIC connection ID information; and the second network function generates billing-related information based on the fourth information.

[0099] In this embodiment, the third network function may identify or detect data or traffic based on the second information, specifically based on the identification information and / or QUIC connection ID information of the QUIC connection, and detect data or traffic having or carrying the identification information and / or QUIC connection ID information of the QUIC connection, thereby sending the flow information or characteristic information of the detected data or traffic having or carrying the identification information and / or QUIC connection ID information to the second network function; the second network function generates billing-related information based on the flow information or characteristic information, thereby realizing billing of the external UE (tethered UE).

[0100] Based on the above embodiments, the present disclosure also provides a service identification method. FIG4 is a flow chart of the service identification method according to the present disclosure; as shown in FIG4 , the method includes:

[0101] Step 301: A third network function receives second information sent by a second network function, where the second information includes policy or rule information for traffic identification related to a QUIC connection.

[0102] Step 302: The third network function identifies and / or processes traffic based on the second information.

[0103] In some optional embodiments, the third network function is UPF; and / or the second network function is SMF.

[0104] In this embodiment, the third network function may be the UPF of the 5G network. In other optional embodiments, the third network function may also be other network functions, network devices or entities of other mobile communication systems that can be used for user plane data routing and forwarding.

[0105] In this embodiment, the second network function may be the SMF of the 5G network. In other optional embodiments, the second network function may also be other network functions, network devices or entities of other mobile communication systems that can be used for session management.

[0106] In this embodiment, the second network function generates policy or rule information related to user plane data or a session based on the policy information of the first network function. The policy or rule information is recorded as the second information. The second network function then sends the second information to the third network function, so that the third network function identifies and / or processes the user plane data (uplink data and / or downlink data) based on the second information.

[0107] The second information may include policy or rule information for traffic identification related to the QUIC connection. For example, the second information may include, but is not limited to, one or more of packet detection rules (PDRs), forwarding action rules (FARs), QoS enforcement rules (QERs), and statistics reporting rules (URRs) related to the QUIC connection.

[0108] In some optional embodiments, the second information includes one or more of the following: identification information of the QUIC connection; QUIC connection ID information; packet filters; packet filter information containing QUIC connection information; service flow description information; QoS information; and terminal address.

[0109] In this embodiment, the service flow description information may also be referred to as packet flow description (PFD) information.

[0110] In some optional embodiments of the present disclosure, the third network function identifies and / or processes the traffic based on the second information, including one or more of the following: the third network function detects downlink data based on the identification information of the QUIC connection or the QUIC connection ID information, and allocates or maps it to the QoS flow; the third network function detects uplink data based on the identification information of the QUIC connection or the QUIC connection ID information; the third network function detects uplink data or downlink data based on the identification information of the QUIC connection or the QUIC connection ID information, and reports it to the second network function.

[0111] In some optional embodiments, the reporting to the second network function includes: the third network function sending third information to the second network function, and the third information includes at least one of the following: detection of data related to the QUIC connection; measurement information of data related to the QUIC connection; data usage related to the QUIC connection; detection of Tethered UE data.

[0112] In this embodiment, after receiving the second information, the third network function may identify and / or process the user plane data (or uplink traffic and / or downlink traffic) based on the second information. As an example, the third network function may identify the data or traffic related to the QUIC connection (or the data or traffic that carries or has the identification information of the QUIC connection and / or the QUIC connection ID information) based on the second information. As another example, the third network function may identify the data or traffic based on the second information, measure the identified data or traffic, and thereby report the measurement information of the data or traffic related to the QUIC connection (or the data or traffic that carries or has the identification information of the QUIC connection and / or the QUIC connection ID information) through the third information, such as measuring or detecting the data usage of the data or traffic related to the QUIC connection (or the data or traffic that carries or has the identification information of the QUIC connection or the QUIC connection ID information), etc. As another example, since the QUIC connection is associated with an external UE (tethered UE), the third network function may identify the data or traffic based on the second information, mainly based on the identification information of the QUIC connection and / or the QUIC connection ID information, thereby identifying or detecting the identification information and / or the QUIC connection ID information, and then determining that the Tethered UE data is detected.

[0113] In some optional embodiments, the reporting to the second network function includes: the third network function sending fourth information to the second network function, and the fourth information is traffic information of the data flow or characteristic information of the data flow with identification information of the QUIC connection and / or QUIC connection ID information.

[0114] In this embodiment, the third network function may identify or detect data or traffic based on the second information, specifically based on the identification information and / or QUIC connection ID information of the QUIC connection, and detect data or traffic having or carrying the identification information and / or QUIC connection ID information of the QUIC connection, thereby sending the flow information or characteristic information of the detected data or traffic having or carrying the identification information and / or QUIC connection ID information to the second network function; the second network function generates billing-related information based on the flow information or characteristic information, thereby realizing billing of the external UE (tethered UE).

[0115] The service identification method according to the embodiment of the present disclosure is described in detail below with reference to specific examples.

[0116] FIG5 is a schematic diagram of an interaction flow of a service identification method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG5 , the service identification method includes:

[0117] Step 400: The UE performs registration and PDU session establishment procedures according to the procedures of the related art.

[0118] Step 401: A tethered UE accesses the UE. At the application layer, a QUIC connection is established between the tethered UE and the AS, thereby establishing a QUIC connection between the tethered UE and the AS.

[0119] Step 402: AF sends a request message to NEF, where the request message carries first information, where the first information may include one or more of UE address, QUIC connection ID(s), flow description information, and QoS information (such as QoS parameters).

[0120] In this example, the request message may specifically be a Nnef_AFsessionWithQoS_Create request message.

[0121] Step 403: The NEF sends a request message to the PCF, which carries the first information. The first information may include one or more of the following: UE address, QUIC connection ID(s), flow description information, and QoS information (such as QoS parameters). The PCF derives or generates PCC rules based on the information (first information) provided by the NEF. The PCC rules include at least identification information of the QUIC connection and QUIC connection ID information. In other optional embodiments, the PCC rules may also include a packet filter containing the QUIC connection ID(s) to identify data or traffic of an external UE (tethered UE).

[0122] Here, the PCC rule may be equivalent to the policy information in the above embodiment.

[0123] In this example, the request message may specifically be an Npcf_PolicyAuthorization_Create request message.

[0124] Step 404-Step 405: PCF sends PCC rules to SMF; SMF generates N4 rules based on PCC rules and sends N4 rules to UPF.

[0125] Here, the N4 rule may be equivalent to the second information in the above embodiment.

[0126] Here, the N4 rule may include one or more of the following information: identification information of the QUIC connection; QUIC connection ID information; packet filters; packet filter information containing QUIC connection information; service flow description information; QoS information; UE address.

[0127] Here, the PCF may send the PCC rules to the SMF via the Npcf_SMPolicyControl_UpdateNotify request message. The SMF may send the N4 rules to the UPF via the N4 Session Modification Request message. In other optional embodiments, after receiving the N4 rules, the UPF may send the N4 Session Modification Response message to the SMF.

[0128] Step 406: The UPF may detect the UL / DL traffics according to the N4 rule.

[0129] Here, the UPF can receive UL traffic and identify the QUIC connection identifier in the message (indicating the source connection ID); if it is identified that the message carries a QUIC connection identifier (such as the QUIC connection ID), it may indicate that data related to the QUIC connection or data of the Tethered UE has been detected; and the data related to the QUIC connection can also be detected or measured to obtain measurement information of the data related to the QUIC connection (such as data usage or data volume).

[0130] Here, as an implementation method, for DL, the UPF can identify the QUIC connection ID (destination connection ID) in the data packet and classify or map the data packet to different QoS flows.

[0131] Step 407: UPF reports the detection result to SMF.

[0132] Here, the detection result may include the traffic usage of the Tethered UE. Exemplarily, the detection result may include at least one of the following: detection of data with a QUIC connection ID; measurement information of data with a QUIC connection ID; data usage with a QUIC connection ID; or detection of Tethered UE data.

[0133] Furthermore, SMF can generate billing related information based on the detection results reported by UPF, such as generating a call record for a specific flow

[0134] Here, UPF can send the detection results to SMF via N4 Session Report message.

[0135] Based on the above embodiments, the present disclosure also provides a service identification device, which is applied to the first network function. Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of the composition structure of the service identification device of the present disclosure embodiment; as shown in Figure 6, the device includes: a first communication unit 11 and a first processing unit 12; wherein,

[0136] The first communication unit 11 is configured to receive first information of a first function, the first information including at least one of the following: identification information of a QUIC connection; QUIC connection ID information; service flow description information; QoS information; and a terminal address.

[0137] The first processing unit 12 is used to generate policy information based on the first information and send the policy information to the second network function. The policy information includes at least one or more of the following: identification information of the QUIC connection and QUIC connection ID information.

[0138] In some optional embodiments of the present disclosure, the first communication unit 11 is configured to directly receive the first information sent by the first function; or, the first network function receives the first information sent by the first function via a fourth network function.

[0139] In some optional embodiments of the present disclosure, the first network function is PCF; and / or the second network function is SMF.

[0140] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the first processing unit 12 in the device can be implemented by a central processing unit (CPU), a digital signal processor (DSP), a microcontroller unit (MCU) or a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) in actual applications; the first communication unit 11 in the device can be implemented by a communication module (including: basic communication kit, operating system, communication module, standardized interface and protocol, etc.) and a transceiver antenna in actual applications.

[0141] The present disclosure also provides a service identification device, which is applied to a second network function. Figure 7 is a second schematic diagram of the structure of the service identification device according to the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 7, the device includes: a second communication unit 21, which is used to receive policy information sent by the first network function, wherein the policy information includes at least one or more of the following: identification information of the QUIC connection and QUIC connection ID information; and is further used to send second information to a third network function based on the policy information, wherein the second information includes policy or rule information for traffic identification related to the QUIC connection.

[0142] In some optional embodiments of the present disclosure, the second information includes one or more of the following: identification information of the QUIC connection; QUIC connection ID information; packet filters; packet filter information containing QUIC connection information; service flow description information; QoS information; and terminal address.

[0143] In some optional embodiments of the present disclosure, the second communication unit 21 is further used to receive third information sent by the third network function, and the third information includes at least one of the following: detection of data related to the QUIC connection; measurement information of data related to the QUIC connection; data usage related to the QUIC connection; and detection of Tethered UE data.

[0144] In some optional embodiments of the present disclosure, the apparatus further includes a second processing unit 22;

[0145] The second communication unit 21 is further configured to receive fourth information sent by the third network function; the fourth information is flow information or characteristic information of a data flow having identification information of a QUIC connection and / or QUIC connection ID information;

[0146] The second processing unit 22 is configured to generate charging related information according to the fourth information.

[0147] In some optional embodiments of the present disclosure, the second network function is SMF; and / or, the first network function is PCF; and / or, the third network function is UPF.

[0148] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the second processing unit 22 in the device can be implemented by a CPU, DSP, MCU or FPGA in actual applications; the second communication unit 21 in the device can be implemented by a communication module (including: basic communication kit, operating system, communication module, standardized interface and protocol, etc.) and a transceiver antenna in actual applications.

[0149] The embodiment of the present disclosure also provides a service identification device, which is applied to the third network function. Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of the composition structure of the service identification device of the embodiment of the present disclosure; As shown in Figure 8, the device includes: a third communication unit 31 and a third processing unit 32; wherein,

[0150] The third communication unit 31 is configured to receive second information sent by a second network function, where the second information includes policy or rule information for traffic identification related to the QUIC connection;

[0151] The third processing unit 32 is configured to identify and / or process traffic based on the second information.

[0152] In some optional embodiments of the present disclosure, the second information includes one or more of the following: identification information of the QUIC connection; QUIC connection ID information; packet filters; packet filter information containing QUIC connection information; service flow description information; QoS information; and terminal address.

[0153] In some optional embodiments of the present disclosure, the third processing unit 32 is configured to do one or more of the following:

[0154] Based on the identification information of the QUIC connection or the QUIC connection ID information, detect the downlink data and divide or map it into QoS flows;

[0155] Detecting uplink data based on the identification information of the QUIC connection or the QUIC connection ID information;

[0156] Based on the identification information of the QUIC connection or the QUIC connection ID information, uplink data or downlink data is detected and reported to the second network function through the third communication unit 31.

[0157] In some optional embodiments of the present disclosure, the third communication unit 31 is further used to send third information to the second network function, and the third information includes at least one of the following: detection of data related to the QUIC connection; measurement information of data related to the QUIC connection; data usage related to the QUIC connection; and detection of Tethered UE data.

[0158] In some optional embodiments of the present disclosure, the third communication unit 31 is further used to send fourth information to the second network function, where the fourth information is traffic information of a data flow having identification information of a QUIC connection and / or QUIC connection ID information or characteristic information of a data flow.

[0159] In some optional embodiments of the present disclosure, the third network function is UPF; and / or the second network function is SMF.

[0160] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the third processing unit 32 in the device can be implemented by a CPU, DSP, MCU or FPGA in actual applications; the third communication unit 31 in the device can be implemented by a communication module (including: basic communication kit, operating system, communication module, standardized interface and protocol, etc.) and a transceiver antenna in actual applications.

[0161] It should be noted that the service identification device provided in the above embodiment only uses the division of the above-mentioned program modules as an example to illustrate service identification. In actual applications, the above-mentioned processing can be assigned to different program modules as needed, that is, the internal structure of the device can be divided into different program modules to complete all or part of the above-described processing. In addition, the service identification device provided in the above embodiment and the service identification method embodiment are based on the same concept. The specific implementation process is detailed in the method embodiment and will not be repeated here.

[0162] The present disclosure also provides a network device, which is a first network function, a second network function, or a third network function. Figure 9 is a schematic diagram of the hardware structure of the network device according to the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 9, the network device includes a memory 42, a processor 41, and a computer program stored in the memory 42 and executable on the processor 41. When the processor 41 executes the program, the steps of the service identification method applied to the first network function, the second network function, or the third network function according to the present disclosure are implemented.

[0163] Optionally, the network device may further include at least one network interface 43. The various components in the network device are coupled together via a bus system 44. It will be appreciated that bus system 44 is used to enable communication between these components. In addition to a data bus, bus system 44 also includes a power bus, a control bus, and a status signal bus. However, for clarity, in FIG9 , all of these buses are labeled as bus system 44.

[0164] It is understood that the memory 42 can be a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory, or can include both volatile and non-volatile memories. Among them, the non-volatile memory can be a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a magnetic random access memory (FRAM), a flash memory, a magnetic surface memory, an optical disk, or a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM); the magnetic surface memory can be a magnetic disk memory or a magnetic tape memory. The volatile memory can be a random access memory (RAM), which is used as an external cache. By way of example and not limitation, many forms of RAM are available, such as Static Random Access Memory (SRAM), Synchronous Static Random Access Memory (SSRAM), Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory (SDRAM), Double Data Rate Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory (DDRSDRAM), Enhanced Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory (ESDRAM), SyncLink Dynamic Random Access Memory (SLDRAM), and Direct Rambus Random Access Memory (DRRAM).The memory 42 described in the embodiments of the present disclosure is intended to include, but is not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0165] The methods disclosed in the above embodiments of the present disclosure can be applied to or implemented by the processor 41. The processor 41 may be an integrated circuit chip with signal processing capabilities. During implementation, the steps of the above methods can be completed by hardware integrated logic circuits in the processor 41 or instructions in software form. The above processor 41 may be a general-purpose processor, a DSP, or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc. The processor 41 can implement or execute the various methods, steps, and logic block diagrams disclosed in the embodiments of the present disclosure. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor, etc. The steps of the methods disclosed in the embodiments of the present disclosure can be directly embodied as being executed by a hardware decoding processor, or can be executed by a combination of hardware and software modules in the decoding processor. The software module can be located in a storage medium, which is located in the memory 42. The processor 41 reads the information in the memory 42 and completes the steps of the above methods in combination with its hardware.

[0166] In an exemplary embodiment, the network device may be implemented by one or more application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), DSPs, programmable logic devices (PLDs), complex programmable logic devices (CPLDs), FPGAs, general-purpose processors, controllers, MCUs, microprocessors, or other electronic components to perform the aforementioned method.

[0167] In an exemplary embodiment, the present disclosure further provides a computer-readable storage medium, such as a memory 42 including a computer program. The computer program can be executed by a processor 41 of a network device to perform the steps of the aforementioned method. The computer-readable storage medium can be a memory such as FRAM, ROM, PROM, EPROM, EEPROM, Flash Memory, magnetic surface mount storage, optical disk, or CD-ROM; or various devices including any one or any combination of the aforementioned memories.

[0168] The computer-readable storage medium provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure stores a computer program thereon, which, when executed by a processor, implements the steps of the service identification method applied to the first network function, the second network function, or the third network function in the embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0169] The embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a computer program product, including a computer program, which can be executed by a network device (such as the processor 41 of the network device) to complete the steps of any of the aforementioned communication methods.

[0170] The methods disclosed in the several method embodiments provided in this disclosure can be arbitrarily combined without conflict to obtain new method embodiments.

[0171] The features disclosed in the several product embodiments provided in this disclosure can be arbitrarily combined without conflict to obtain new product embodiments.

[0172] The features disclosed in several method or device embodiments provided in this disclosure may be arbitrarily combined without conflict to obtain new method embodiments or device embodiments.

[0173] In the several embodiments provided in the present disclosure, it should be understood that the disclosed devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. The device embodiments described above are merely schematic. For example, the division of the units is merely a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods, such as: multiple units or components can be combined, or can be integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. In addition, the coupling, direct coupling, or communication connection between the components shown or discussed can be through some interfaces, and the indirect coupling or communication connection of the devices or units can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0174] The units described above as separate components may or may not be physically separated, and the components displayed as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed on multiple network units; some or all of the units may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of this embodiment.

[0175] In addition, all functional units in the embodiments of the present disclosure may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may be separately used as a unit, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit; the above-mentioned integrated units may be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of hardware plus software functional units.

[0176] Those skilled in the art will understand that all or part of the steps of implementing the above-mentioned method embodiment can be completed by hardware related to program instructions, and the aforementioned program can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. When the program is executed, it executes the steps of the above-mentioned method embodiment; and the aforementioned storage medium includes: mobile storage devices, ROM, RAM, disks or optical disks, etc. Various media that can store program codes.

[0177] Alternatively, if the above-mentioned integrated unit of the present disclosure is implemented in the form of a software function module and sold or used as an independent product, it can also be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the embodiment of the present disclosure can essentially or in other words, the part that contributes to the relevant technology can be embodied in the form of a software product, and the computer software product is stored in a storage medium, including a number of instructions for enabling a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the methods described in each embodiment of the present disclosure. The aforementioned storage medium includes: various media that can store program codes, such as mobile storage devices, ROM, RAM, magnetic disks or optical disks.

[0178] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of the present disclosure, but the scope of protection of the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Any changes or substitutions that can be easily conceived by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in this disclosure should be included in the scope of protection of the present disclosure. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present disclosure should be based on the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. A service identification method, applied to a first network function, comprising: The first network function receives first information of a first function, the first information including at least one of the following: identification information of a Fast User Datagram Protocol (UDP) network connection QUIC connection; QUIC connection ID information; Service flow description information; Quality of service (QoS) information; terminal address; The first network function generates policy information based on the first information and sends the policy information to the second network function. The policy information includes at least one or more of the following: identification information of the QUIC connection and QUIC connection ID information.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein The first network function receives first information of a first function, including: The first network function directly receives the first information sent by the first function; or The first network function receives the first information sent by the first function via the fourth network function.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein The first network function is a policy control function PCF; and / or, The second network function is a session management function SMF.

4. A service identification method, applied to a second network function, comprising: The second network function receives policy information sent by the first network function, where the policy information includes at least one or more of the following: identification information of the QUIC connection and QUIC connection ID information; The second network function sends second information to the third network function based on the policy information, where the second information includes policy or rule information for traffic identification related to the QUIC connection.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein The second information includes one or more of the following: QUIC connection identification information; QUIC connection ID information; Packet Filters; Packet Filter information containing QUIC connection information; Service flow description information; QoS information; terminal address.

6. The method according to claim 4, further comprising: The second network function receives third information sent by the third network function, where the third information includes at least one of the following: Data related to the QUIC connection was detected; measurement information about data related to the QUIC connection; data usage related to the QUIC connection; Tethered UE data was detected.

7. The method according to claim 4, further comprising: The second network function receives fourth information sent by the third network function; The fourth information is traffic information of a data stream or characteristic information of a data stream having identification information of a QUIC connection and / or QUIC connection ID information; The second network function generates charging related information according to the fourth information.

8. The method according to claim 4, wherein The second network function is a session management function SMF; and / or, The first network function is a policy control function PCF; and / or, The third network function is the user plane function UPF.

9. A service identification method, the method being applied to a third network function, the method comprising: The third network function receives second information sent by the second network function, where the second information includes policy or rule information for traffic identification related to the QUIC connection; The third network function identifies and / or processes the traffic based on the second information.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein: The second information includes one or more of the following: QUIC connection identification information; QUIC connection ID information; Packet Filters; Packet Filter information containing QUIC connection information; Service flow description information; QoS information; terminal address.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein: The third network function identifies and / or processes the traffic based on the second information, including one or more of the following: The third network function detects the downlink data based on the identification information of the QUIC connection or the QUIC connection ID information, and allocates or maps the data to the QoS flow; The third network function detects the uplink data based on the identification information of the QUIC connection or the QUIC connection ID information; The third network function detects uplink data or downlink data based on the identification information of the QUIC connection or the QUIC connection ID information, and reports it to the second network function.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein The reporting to the second network function includes: The third network function sends third information to the second network function, and the third information includes at least one of the following: detection of data related to the QUIC connection; measurement information of data related to the QUIC connection; data usage related to the QUIC connection; detection of Tethered UE data.

13. The method according to claim 11, wherein The reporting to the second network function includes: The third network function sends fourth information to the second network function, where the fourth information is traffic information of the data flow or characteristic information of the data flow.

14. The method according to claim 9, wherein The third network function is a user plane function UPF; and / or, The second network function is a session management function SMF.

15. A service identification device, applied to a first network function, comprising: a first communication unit and a first processing unit; wherein, The first communication unit is configured to receive first information of a first function, the first information including at least one of the following: identification information of a QUIC connection; QUIC connection ID information; service flow description information; quality of service QoS information; and a terminal address. The first processing unit is used to generate policy information based on the first information and send the policy information to the second network function, where the policy information includes at least one or more of the following: identification information of the QUIC connection and QUIC connection ID information.

16. A service identification device, applied to a second network function, comprising: The second communication unit is used to receive policy information sent by the first network function, where the policy information includes at least one or more of the following: identification information of the QUIC connection and QUIC connection ID information; and is also used to send second information to the third network function based on the policy information, where the second information includes policy or rule information for traffic identification related to the QUIC connection.

17. A service identification device, the device being applied to a third network function, the device comprising: A third communication unit and a third processing unit; wherein, the third communication unit being configured to receive second information sent by the second network function, the second information comprising policy or rule information for traffic identification related to the QUIC connection; The third processing unit is configured to identify and / or process traffic based on the second information.

18. A computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, wherein: When the program is executed by a processor, the steps of the method according to any one of claims 1 to 3 are implemented; or When the program is executed by a processor, the steps of the method according to any one of claims 4 to 8 are implemented; or When the program is executed by a processor, the steps of the method according to any one of claims 9 to 14 are implemented.

19. A network device comprising a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored in the memory and executable on the processor, wherein: When the processor executes the program, the steps of the method described in any one of claims 1 to 3 are implemented; or, when the processor executes the program, the steps of the method described in any one of claims 4 to 8 are implemented; or, when the processor executes the program, the steps of the method described in any one of claims 9 to 14 are implemented.

20. A computer program product comprising computer program instructions, which cause a communication device to perform the steps of the method according to any one of claims 1 to 3; or, which cause a communication device to perform the steps of the method according to any one of claims 4 to 8; or, which cause a communication device to perform the steps of the method according to any one of claims 9 to 14.

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