Communication method and apparatus, communication device, communication system, and storage medium

Abstract

Provided in the present disclosure are a communication method and apparatus, a communication device, a communication system, and a storage medium. The method comprises: when a user plane connection is established with a terminal, acquiring first information of the terminal, and sending a first request to a second network element, wherein the first request comprises the first information of the terminal; receiving a first response sent by the second network element, wherein the first response comprises second information of the terminal, the first information and the second information being different information corresponding to the same terminal; and associating the first information with the second information. The method in the present disclosure ensures the normal execution of services between a first network element and a terminal, such that the communication stability and communication efficiency are guaranteed.

Description

Communication method and apparatus, communication device, communication system, and storage medium TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the technical field of communication, and particularly relates to a communication method and apparatus, a communication device, a communication system, and a storage medium. BACKGROUND

[0002] In a communication system, a user plane connection is usually established between a location management function (LMF) network element and a terminal, so as to perform related services (such as user plane positioning) through the user plane connection.

[0003] SUMMARY

[0004] The present disclosure provides a communication method and apparatus, a communication device, a communication system, and a storage medium.

[0005] According to a first aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a communication method is provided, the method is performed by a first network element, and the method comprises:

[0006] When a user plane connection is established with a terminal, first information of the terminal is acquired, a first request is sent to a second network element, and the first request comprises the first information of the terminal;

[0007] A first response sent by the second network element is received, and the first response comprises second information of the terminal; the first information and the second information are different information corresponding to a same terminal;

[0008] The first information and the second information are associated.

[0009] According to a second aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a communication method is provided, the method is performed by a second network element, and the method comprises:

[0010] A first request sent by a first network element is received, and the first request comprises first information of the terminal;

[0011] Second information of the terminal is determined based on the first information of the terminal; the first information and the second information are different information corresponding to a same terminal;

[0012] A first response is sent to the first network element, and the first response comprises the second information of the terminal.

[0013] According to a third aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a communication method is provided, which is used in a communication system, the communication system comprises a first network element and a second network element, and the method comprises:

[0014] The first network element establishes a user plane connection with a terminal, obtains first information of the terminal, and sends a first request to the second network element, wherein the first request comprises the first information of the terminal.

[0015] The second network element receives the first request sent by the first network element.

[0016] The second network element determines second information of the terminal based on the first information of the terminal; the first information and the second information are different information corresponding to the same terminal.

[0017] The second network element sends a first response to the first network element, wherein the first response comprises the second information of the terminal.

[0018] The first network element receives the first response sent by the second network element.

[0019] The first network element associates the first information with the second information.

[0020] According to a fourth aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure, a first network element is provided, comprising:

[0021] The transceiver module is configured to, when establishing a user plane connection with a terminal, obtain first information of the terminal, and send a first request to a second network element, wherein the first request comprises the first information of the terminal.

[0022] The transceiver module is further configured to receive a first response sent by the second network element, wherein the first response comprises second information of the terminal; the first information and the second information are different information corresponding to the same terminal.

[0023] The processing module is configured to associate the first information with the second information.

[0024] According to a fifth aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure, a second network element is provided, comprising:

[0025] The transceiver module is configured to receive a first request sent by a first network element, wherein the first request comprises first information of a terminal.

[0026] The processing module is configured to determine second information of the terminal based on the first information of the terminal; the first information and the second information are different information corresponding to the same terminal.

[0027] The transceiver module is further configured to send a first response to the first network element, wherein the first response comprises the second information of the terminal.

[0028] According to a sixth aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure, a communication device is provided, comprising:

[0029] One or more processors;

[0030] The processor is configured to invoke instructions to cause the communication device to perform the communication method according to any one of the first aspect to the second aspect.

[0031] According to a seventh aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure, a communication system is provided, and the communication system comprises a first network element and a second network element, wherein the first network element is configured to implement the communication method according to the first aspect, and the second network element is configured to implement the communication method according to the second aspect.

[0032] According to an eighth aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure, a storage medium is provided, and the storage medium stores instructions, and the instructions, when executed on a communication device, cause the communication device to perform the communication method according to any one of the first aspect to the second aspect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0033] The above and / or additional aspects and advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of the embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0034] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an architecture of some communication systems according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0035] FIG. 2A is a schematic diagram of an interaction of a communication method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0036] FIG. 2B is a schematic diagram of an interaction of a communication method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0037] FIG. 2C is a schematic diagram of an interaction of a communication method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0038] FIG. 3A is a schematic diagram of a flow of a communication method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0039] FIG. 3B is a schematic diagram of a flow of a communication method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0040] FIG. 3C is a schematic diagram of a flow of a communication method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0041] FIG. 3D is a schematic diagram of a flow of a communication method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0042] FIG. 4A is a schematic diagram of a flow of a communication method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0043] FIG. 4B is a schematic diagram of a flow of a communication method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0044] FIG. 4C is a schematic diagram of a flow of a communication method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0045] FIG. 5A is a flow diagram of a communication method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0046] FIG. 5B is an interaction diagram of a communication method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0047] FIG. 6A is a structural diagram of a first network element according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0048] FIG. 6B is a structural diagram of a second network element according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0049] FIG. 7A is a structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0050] FIG. 7B is a structural diagram of a chip according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0051] Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a communication method and apparatus, a communication device, a communication system, and a storage medium.

[0052] In a first aspect, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a communication method, performed by a first network element, the method comprising:

[0053] When establishing a user plane connection with a terminal, obtaining first information of the terminal, sending a first request to a second network element, the first request comprising the first information of the terminal;

[0054] Receiving a first response sent by the second network element, the first response comprising second information of the terminal; the first information and the second information are different information corresponding to the same terminal;

[0055] Associating the first information with the second information.

[0056] In the above embodiments, when establishing a user plane connection with the terminal, if the first network element obtains the first information of the terminal, the first network element sends a first request to the second network element, the first request including the first information of the terminal, and the second network element can determine the second information of the terminal based on the first information of the terminal and send the second information of the terminal to the terminal through a first response. Then, the first network element can associate the first information and the second information of the terminal. The first information and the second information can be different information corresponding to the same terminal. Therefore, in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the first network element associates the first information and the second information of the terminal in the process of establishing a user plane connection with the terminal, that is, the first network element determines that the first information and the second information of the same terminal are different information corresponding to the same terminal. Therefore, when the first information is associated with the first service, it indicates that the terminal corresponding to the first information is associated with the first service. At this time, based on the association relationship between the first information and the second information, the first network element can deduce that the terminal corresponding to the second information is associated with the first service, that is, the second information is also associated with the first service, so that the first network element can perform the first service with the terminal based on the second information. Or, when the second information is associated with the second service, it indicates that the terminal corresponding to the second information is associated with the second service. At this time, based on the association relationship between the first information and the second information, the first network element can deduce that the terminal corresponding to the first information is associated with the second service, that is, the first information is also associated with the second service, so that the first network element can perform the second service with the terminal based on the first information. Therefore, the situation that the first network element cannot perform the service associated with the second information based on the first information, or the first network element cannot perform the service associated with the first information based on the second information, can be avoided, ensuring the normal execution of the service between the first network element and the terminal, and ensuring the stability and efficiency of communication.

[0057] In some embodiments in combination with the first aspect, in some embodiments, the first information is a terminal identifier, and the second information is a terminal address; or the first information is a terminal address, and the second information is a terminal identifier.

[0058] In some embodiments in combination with the first aspect, in some embodiments, in the process of establishing a user plane connection with the terminal, the first network element obtains the terminal identifier and the terminal address, wherein the first network element obtains the terminal identifier in a different manner from that in which the first network element obtains the terminal address.

[0059] In some embodiments in combination with the first aspect, in some embodiments, the first information is a terminal identifier.

[0060] The obtaining of the first information of the terminal includes at least one of the following:

[0061] receiving a first message sent by the third network element, the first message comprising at least one of a first acknowledgement, a first identifier, and a terminal identifier, wherein the first acknowledgement is an acknowledgement of establishing a user plane connection, and the first identifier is used to identify the first network element and / or a user plane positioning connection management (UPP-CM) session;

[0062] receiving a second message sent by the third network element, the second message comprising at least one of a user plane connection establishment completion message, the first identifier, and the terminal identifier.

[0063] In some embodiments of the first aspect, the first information is a terminal address.

[0064] The obtaining the first information of the terminal comprises:

[0065] In a process of establishing the user plane connection with the terminal, the terminal address of the terminal is obtained.

[0066] In some embodiments of the first aspect, the terminal identifier comprises at least one of:

[0067] a subscription user permanent identifier (SUPI);

[0068] a general public subscription identifier (GPSI).

[0069] In some embodiments of the first aspect, the terminal address is an internet protocol (IP) address of the terminal.

[0070] In some embodiments of the first aspect, the IP address of the terminal comprises at least one of:

[0071] an IPv4 address;

[0072] an IPv6 prefix.

[0073] In the above embodiments, the first information and the second information are further limited, and it is limited that the first information can be a terminal identifier, and the second information can be a terminal address, or the first information can be a terminal address, and the second information can be a terminal identifier. In addition, the acquisition manner of the first network element for the first information and the second information is also limited, so that the method of the disclosure is implemented in a specific communication scenario, that is, the method of the disclosure can be specifically applied to the communication scenario of "association of terminal identifier and terminal address in user plane connection process", so as to realize the association of the terminal identifier and the terminal address in the user plane connection process, so that the first network element can perform the service associated with the terminal identifier through the user plane based on the terminal address, for example, the first network element can perform the LCS-UPP service associated with the terminal identifier through the user plane based on the terminal address, so as to ensure that the first network element can successfully send the LCS-UPP message to the terminal through the user plane, and ensure the normal execution of the LCS-UPP service.

[0074] In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the first request further includes a first indication, and the first indication is used to indicate that the first network element requests the second information of the terminal from the second network element.

[0075] In the above embodiments, the first indication can also be included in the first request to indicate that the first network element requests the second information of the terminal from the second network element, so that the second network element can successfully feed back the second information of the terminal to the first network element based on the first indication, so that the first network element can successfully associate the first information and the second information.

[0076] In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the first request is Nbsf_Management_Discovery request.

[0077] The first response is Nbsf_Management_Discovery response.

[0078] In the above embodiments, it is limited that the first request and the first response can be specific messages, so that the first network element can request the second information of the terminal from the second network element by using the corresponding message, and the second network element can feed back the second information of the terminal to the first network element by using the corresponding message, so that the first network element can successfully associate the first information and the second information.

[0079] In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the method further includes:

[0080] sending a user plane connection establishment command.

[0081] In some embodiments combining with the first aspect, in some embodiments, before the sending the user plane connection establishment command, the method further comprises:

[0082] receiving a user plane connection establishment request.

[0083] In the above embodiments, the first network element can trigger the establishment of the user plane connection between the first network element and the terminal by sending the user plane connection command, or the terminal can trigger the establishment of the user plane connection between the first network element and the terminal by sending the user plane connection establishment request, and the present disclosure provides two methods of triggering the establishment of the user plane connection, for establishing the user plane connection between the first network element and the terminal, so that the first network element and the terminal can perform related services based on the established user plane connection.

[0084] In some embodiments combining with the first aspect, in some embodiments, the method further comprises:

[0085] communicating with the terminal through the user plane connection based on the terminal identifier and / or the terminal address.

[0086] In the above embodiments, after the terminal identifier and the terminal address associated with the terminal, the first information can be communicated with the terminal through the user plane connection based on the terminal identifier and / or the terminal address, for example, the first network element can perform the LCS-UPP service associated with the terminal identifier through the user plane based on the terminal address, so as to ensure that the first network element can successfully send the LCS-UPP message to the terminal through the user plane, and ensure the normal execution of the LCS-UPP service.

[0087] In a second aspect, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a communication method, the method is performed by a second network element, and the method comprises:

[0088] receiving a first request sent by a first network element, wherein the first request comprises first information of a terminal;

[0089] determining second information of the terminal based on the first information of the terminal; the first information and the second information are different information corresponding to the same terminal;

[0090] sending a first response to the first network element, wherein the first response comprises the second information of the terminal.

[0091] In the above embodiments, when establishing a user plane connection with the terminal, if the first network element obtains the first information of the terminal, the first network element sends a first request to the second network element, the first request including the first information of the terminal, and the second network element determines the second information of the terminal based on the first information of the terminal and sends the second information of the terminal to the terminal through a first response, so that the first network element can associate the first information and the second information of the terminal. The first information and the second information can be different information corresponding to the same terminal. Therefore, in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the first network element associates the first information and the second information of the terminal in the process of establishing a user plane connection with the terminal, that is, the first network element determines that the first information and the second information of the same terminal are different information corresponding to the same terminal. Therefore, when the first information is associated with the first service, it indicates that the terminal corresponding to the first information is associated with the first service. At this time, based on the association relationship between the first information and the second information, the first network element can deduce that the terminal corresponding to the second information is associated with the first service, that is, the second information is also associated with the first service, so that the first network element can perform the first service with the terminal based on the second information. Or, when the second information is associated with the second service, it indicates that the terminal corresponding to the second information is associated with the second service. At this time, based on the association relationship between the first information and the second information, the first network element can deduce that the terminal corresponding to the first information is associated with the second service, that is, the first information is also associated with the second service, so that the first network element can perform the second service with the terminal based on the first information. Therefore, the situation that the first network element cannot perform the service associated with the second information based on the first information, or the first network element cannot perform the service associated with the first information based on the second information, can be avoided, ensuring the normal execution of the service between the first network element and the terminal, and ensuring the communication stability and communication efficiency.

[0092] In some embodiments in combination with the second aspect, in some embodiments, the first information is a terminal identifier, and the second information is a terminal address; or the first information is a terminal address, and the second information is a terminal identifier.

[0093] In some embodiments in combination with the second aspect, in some embodiments, the determining the second information of the terminal based on the first information of the terminal comprises:

[0094] Retrieving the second information of the terminal from a tuple based on the first information of the terminal.

[0095] In some embodiments in combination with the second aspect, in some embodiments, the terminal identifier comprises at least one of:

[0096] A subscription user permanent identifier (SUPI);

[0097] General Public User Identity, GPSI.

[0098] In some embodiments of the second aspect, the terminal address is an Internet Protocol, IP, address of the terminal.

[0099] In some embodiments of the second aspect, the IP address of the terminal comprises at least one of:

[0100] an IPv4 address;

[0101] an IPv6 prefix.

[0102] In some embodiments of the second aspect, the first request further comprises a first indication, the first indication being used to indicate that the first network element requests the second information of the terminal from the second network element.

[0103] In some embodiments of the second aspect, the first request is an Nbsf_Management_Discovery request.

[0104] the first response is an Nbsf_Management_Discovery response.

[0105] In a third aspect, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a communication method, applied to a communication system, the communication system comprising a first network element and a second network element, and the method comprises:

[0106] when the first network element establishes a user plane connection with a terminal, obtaining first information of the terminal, and sending a first request to the second network element, the first request comprising the first information of the terminal;

[0107] the second network element receives the first request sent by the first network element;

[0108] the second network element determines second information of the terminal based on the first information of the terminal; the first information and the second information are different information corresponding to the same terminal;

[0109] the second network element sends a first response to the first network element, the first response comprising the second information of the terminal;

[0110] the first network element receives the first response sent by the second network element;

[0111] the first network element associates the first information with the second information.

[0112] In a fourth aspect, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a first network element, comprising:

[0113] a transceiver, configured to obtain first information of a terminal when establishing a user plane connection with the terminal, and send a first request to a second network element, the first request comprising the first information of the terminal;

[0114] the transceiver is further configured to receive a first response sent by the second network element, the first response comprising second information of the terminal; the first information and the second information are different information corresponding to the same terminal;

[0115] a processing module, configured to associate the first information and the second information.

[0116] In combination with some embodiments of the fourth aspect, in some embodiments, the first information is a terminal identifier, and the second information is a terminal address; or, the first information is a terminal address, and the second information is a terminal identifier.

[0117] In combination with some embodiments of the fourth aspect, in some embodiments, in the process of establishing the user plane connection with the terminal, the first network element obtains the terminal identifier and the terminal address, wherein the first network element obtains the terminal identifier in a manner different from that in which the first network element obtains the terminal address.

[0118] In combination with some embodiments of the fourth aspect, in some embodiments, the first information is a terminal identifier.

[0119] The obtaining of the first information of the terminal comprises at least one of:

[0120] receiving a first message sent by a third network element, the first message comprising at least one of a first confirmation, a first identifier, and a terminal identifier; the first confirmation is a user plane connection establishment confirmation, and the first identifier is used to identify the first network element and / or a user plane positioning connection management (UPP-CM) session;

[0121] receiving a second message sent by a third network element, the second message comprising at least one of a user plane connection establishment completion message, a first identifier, and a terminal identifier.

[0122] In combination with some embodiments of the fourth aspect, in some embodiments, the first information is a terminal address.

[0123] The obtaining of the first information of the terminal comprises:

[0124] In the process of establishing the user plane connection with the terminal, the terminal address of the terminal is obtained.

[0125] In combination with some embodiments of the fourth aspect, in some embodiments, the terminal identifier comprises at least one of:

[0126] Subscription User Permanent Identifier, SUPI;

[0127] General Public Subscription Identifier, GPSI.

[0128] In some embodiments of the fourth aspect, in some embodiments, the terminal address is an Internet Protocol, IP, address of the terminal.

[0129] In some embodiments of the fourth aspect, in some embodiments, the IP address of the terminal comprises at least one of:

[0130] IPv4 address;

[0131] IPv6 prefix.

[0132] In some embodiments of the fourth aspect, in some embodiments, the first request further comprises a first indication, the first indication being used to indicate that the first network element requests the second information of the terminal from the second network element.

[0133] In some embodiments of the fourth aspect, in some embodiments, the first request is: Nbsf_Management_Discovery request.

[0134] The first response is: Nbsf_Management_Discovery response.

[0135] In some embodiments of the fourth aspect, in some embodiments, the first network element is further configured to:

[0136] send a user plane connection setup command.

[0137] In some embodiments of the fourth aspect, in some embodiments, before the sending the user plane connection setup command, the method further comprises:

[0138] receiving a user plane connection setup request.

[0139] In some embodiments of the fourth aspect, in some embodiments, the first network element is further configured to:

[0140] communicate with the terminal through the user plane connection based on the terminal identifier and / or the terminal address.

[0141] In a fifth aspect, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a second network element, comprising:

[0142] a transceiver, configured to receive a first request sent by a first network element, the first request comprising first information of a terminal;

[0143] The processing module is configured to determine the second information of the terminal based on the first information of the terminal, wherein the first information and the second information are different information corresponding to the same terminal.

[0144] The transceiving module is further configured to send a first response to the first network element, wherein the first response comprises the second information of the terminal.

[0145] In some embodiments of the fifth aspect, the first information is a terminal identifier, and the second information is a terminal address; or the first information is a terminal address, and the second information is a terminal identifier.

[0146] In some embodiments of the fifth aspect, the determining the second information of the terminal based on the first information of the terminal comprises:

[0147] retrieving the second information of the terminal from a tuple based on the first information of the terminal.

[0148] In some embodiments of the fifth aspect, the terminal identifier comprises at least one of:

[0149] a subscription user permanent identifier (SUPI);

[0150] a general public subscription identifier (GPSI).

[0151] In some embodiments of the fifth aspect, the terminal address is an Internet Protocol (IP) address of the terminal.

[0152] In some embodiments of the fifth aspect, the IP address of the terminal comprises at least one of:

[0153] an IPv4 address;

[0154] an IPv6 prefix.

[0155] In some embodiments of the fifth aspect, the first request further comprises a first indication, and the first indication is used to indicate that the first network element requests the second information of the terminal from the second network element.

[0156] In some embodiments of the fifth aspect, the first request is an Nbsf_Management_Discovery request.

[0157] The first response is an Nbsf_Management_Discovery response.

[0158] In a sixth aspect, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a communication device, comprising: one or more processors; one or more memories storing instructions; wherein the processor is configured to invoke the instructions to cause the communication device to perform the communication method described in the first aspect, the optional implementation of the first aspect, the second aspect, and the optional implementation of the second aspect.

[0159] In a seventh aspect, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a communication system, comprising: a first network element, a second network element; wherein the first network element is configured to perform the method described in the first aspect and the optional implementation of the first aspect, and the second network element is configured to perform the method described in the second aspect and the optional implementation of the second aspect.

[0160] In an eighth aspect, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a storage medium, which stores instructions, when the instructions run on a communication device, cause the communication device to perform the communication method described in the first aspect, the optional implementation of the first aspect, the second aspect, and the optional implementation of the second aspect.

[0161] In a ninth aspect, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a program product, which, when executed by a communication device, causes the communication device to perform the communication method described in the first aspect, the optional implementation of the first aspect, the second aspect, and the optional implementation of the second aspect.

[0162] In a tenth aspect, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a computer program, which, when running on a computer, causes the computer to perform the communication method described in the first aspect, the optional implementation of the first aspect, the second aspect, and the optional implementation of the second aspect.

[0163] It can be understood that the first network element, the second network element, the communication device, the communication system, the storage medium, the program product, and the computer program are all used to perform the method proposed in the embodiments of the present disclosure. Therefore, the beneficial effects they can achieve can refer to the beneficial effects in the corresponding method, which will not be described here.

[0164] The embodiments of the present disclosure propose an invention name. In some embodiments, the terms of communication method, information processing method, information sending method, and information receiving method can be replaced with each other, the terms of communication device, information processing device, information sending device, and information receiving device can be replaced with each other, and the terms of information processing system, communication system, information sending system, and information receiving system can be replaced with each other.

[0165] The embodiments of the present disclosure are not exhaustive, but only illustrate some embodiments, and are not specific limitations on the protection scope of the present disclosure. In the case of no contradiction, each step in an embodiment can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and the steps can be combined arbitrarily, for example, the scheme after removing part of the steps in an embodiment can also be implemented as an independent embodiment, and the order of the steps in an embodiment can be exchanged arbitrarily, in addition, the optional implementation in an embodiment can be combined arbitrarily; in addition, the embodiments can be combined arbitrarily, for example, part or all steps of different embodiments can be combined arbitrarily, an embodiment can be combined with optional implementation of other embodiments.

[0166] In each embodiment of the present disclosure, the terms and / or descriptions between the embodiments are consistent if there is no special description and logical conflict, and can be referred to each other, and the technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationship.

[0167] The terms used in the embodiments of the present disclosure are only for the purpose of describing the specific embodiments, and not as a limitation on the present disclosure.

[0168] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, unless otherwise specified, the elements expressed in singular form, such as "one", "a", "the", "above", "said", "preceding", "this" and the like, can represent "one and only one", and can also represent "one or more", "at least one" and the like. For example, in the case of using articles such as "a", "an", "the" and the like in English, the noun after the article can be understood as singular expression, and can also be understood as plural expression.

[0169] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, "a plurality of" means two or more.

[0170] In some embodiments, the terms "at least one of", "at least one of", "at least one of", "one or more", "a plurality of", "multiple" and the like can be replaced with each other.

[0171] The description manner such as "at least one of A, B, C, …", "A and / or B and / or C, …" and the like in the embodiments of the present disclosure includes any one of A, B, C, … existing alone, and also includes any combination of any multiple of A, B, C, …, each of which can exist alone; for example, "at least one of A, B, C" includes a case of A alone, a case of B alone, a case of C alone, a case of combination of A and B, a case of combination of A and C, a case of combination of B and C, and a case of combination of A and B and C; for example, A and / or B includes a case of A alone, a case of B alone, and a case of combination of A and B.

[0172] In some embodiments, the description manner such as "A in a case, B in another case", "in response to a case A, in response to another case B" and the like can include the following technical solutions according to the case: A is executed regardless of B, that is, A in some embodiments; B is executed regardless of A, that is, B in some embodiments; A and B are selectively executed, that is, from A and B, execution is selected in some embodiments; A and B are both executed, that is, A and B in some embodiments. When there are more branches of A, B, C and the like, it is similar to the above.

[0173] The prefix words "first", "second" and the like in the embodiments of the present disclosure are only used to distinguish different description objects, and do not constitute limitation on the position, order, priority, quantity or content of the description objects. The description of the description objects should be referred to the description in the context of the claims or embodiments, and should not be limited by the prefix words. For example, the description object is "field", and the ordinal words before "field" in "first field" and "second field" do not limit the position or order between "fields", and "first" and "second" do not limit whether the "fields" modified thereby are in the same message or not, nor limit the order of "first field" and "second field". For another example, the description object is "level", and the ordinal words before "level" in "first level" and "second level" do not limit the priority between "levels". For another example, the quantity of the description object is not limited by the ordinal words, and can be one or more. For example, "first device", wherein the quantity of "device" can be one or more. In addition, the objects modified by different prefix words can be the same or different, for example, the description object is "device", and "first device" and "second device" can be the same device or different devices, and the types thereof can be the same or different; for another example, the description object is "information", and "first information" and "second information" can be the same information or different information, and the content thereof can be the same or different.

[0174] In some embodiments, "including A", "containing A", "for indicating A", "carrying A" can be interpreted as directly carrying A, or indirectly indicating A.

[0175] In some embodiments, the terms "in response to", "in response to determining", "in the case of", "when", "if", "if", etc. can be replaced with each other.

[0176] In some embodiments, the terms "greater than", "greater than or equal to", "not less than", "more than", "more than or equal to", "not less than", "higher than", "higher than or equal to", "not lower than", "above", etc. can be replaced with each other, and the terms "less than", "less than or equal to", "not greater than", "less than", "less than or equal to", "not more than", "lower than", "lower than or equal to", "not higher than", "below", etc. can be replaced with each other.

[0177] In some embodiments, the device, etc. can be interpreted as an entity, and can also be interpreted as virtual, and the name is not limited to the name described in the embodiments. The terms "device", "equipment", "device", "circuit", "network element", "node", "function", "unit", "section", "system", "network", "chip", "chip system", "entity", "subject", etc. can be replaced with each other.

[0178] In some embodiments, "network" can be interpreted as a device (e.g., access network device, core network device, etc.) contained in the network.

[0179] In some embodiments, the terms “access network device (AN device),” “radio access network device (RAN device),” “base station (BS),” “radio base station,” “fixed station,” “node,” “access point,” “transmission point (TP),” “reception point (RP),” “transmission / reception point (TRP),” “panel,” “antenna panel,” “antenna array,” “cell,” “macro cell,” “small cell,” “femto cell,” “pico cell,” “sector,” “cell group,” “carrier,” “component carrier,” “bandwidth part (BWP),” and the like can be used interchangeably.

[0180] In some embodiments, the terms "terminal," "terminal device," "user equipment (UE)," "user terminal," "mobile station (MS)," "mobile terminal (MT)," "subscriber station," "mobile unit," "subscriber unit," "wireless unit," "remote unit," "mobile device," "wireless device," "wireless communication device," "remote device," "mobile subscriber station," "access terminal," "mobile terminal," "wireless terminal," "remote terminal," "handset," "user agent," "mobile client," "client," and so on can be replaced with each other.

[0181] In some embodiments, an access network device, a core network device, or a network device can be replaced with a terminal. For example, for a structure in which communication between an access network device, a core network device, or a network device and a terminal is replaced with communication between a plurality of terminals (for example, also referred to as device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (V2X), and so on), embodiments of the present disclosure can also be applied. In this case, a structure in which a terminal has all or part of the functions of an access network device can also be provided. Furthermore, the language of "uplink," "downlink," and so on can also be replaced with language corresponding to communication between terminals (for example, "side"). For example, an uplink channel, a downlink channel, and so on can be replaced with a side channel, and an uplink, a downlink, and so on can be replaced with a side link.

[0182] In some embodiments, a terminal can be replaced with an access network device, a core network device, or a network device. In this case, a structure in which an access network device, a core network device, or a network device has all or part of the functions of a terminal can also be provided.

[0183] In some embodiments, the data, information, etc. can be obtained in compliance with the laws and regulations of the country where the location is situated.

[0184] In some embodiments, the data, information, etc. can be obtained after obtaining the consent of the user.

[0185] In addition, each element, each row, or each column in the table of the embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and any combination of any element, any row, or any column can also be implemented as an independent embodiment.

[0186] The correspondence shown in each table in the present disclosure can be configured or predefined. The values of the information in each table are merely examples, and other values can be configured, and the present disclosure is not limited thereto. When configuring the correspondence between the information and each parameter, it is not necessarily required to configure all the correspondences shown in each table. For example, the correspondences shown in some rows in the table in the present disclosure can also not be configured. For another example, the above table can be appropriately deformed, adjusted, etc., for example, split, merged, etc. The names of the parameters shown in the titles of the above tables can also use other names understandable by the communication device, and the values or representations of the parameters can also use other values or representations understandable by the communication device. The above tables can also use other data structures when implemented, for example, arrays, queues, containers, stacks, linear tables, pointers, linked lists, trees, graphs, structures, classes, heaps, hash tables, etc.

[0187] The predefinition in the present disclosure can be understood as definition, predefinition, storage, pre-storage, pre-negotiation, pre-configuration, solidification, or pre-burning.

[0188] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an architecture of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 1, the communication system 100 can include a first network element, a second network element, a third network element, and a terminal.

[0189] In some embodiments, the terminal includes at least one of a mobile phone, a wearable device, an Internet of Things device, a communication-capable automobile, a smart automobile, a Pad, a wireless transceiver-equipped computer, a virtual reality (VR) terminal device, an augmented reality (AR) terminal device, a wireless terminal device in industrial control, a wireless terminal device in self-driving, a wireless terminal device in remote medical surgery, a wireless terminal device in a smart grid, a wireless terminal device in transportation safety, a wireless terminal device in a smart city, a wireless terminal device in a smart home, and the like, but is not limited thereto.

[0190] In some embodiments, the terminal can be connected with a network device, which can include at least one of an access network device and a core network device.

[0191] Optionally, the access network device is at least one of a node or a device that accesses the terminal to a wireless network, and can include at least one of an evolved NodeB (eNB) in a 5G communication system, a next generation eNB (ng-eNB), a next generation NodeB (gNB), a node B (NB), a home node B (HNB), a home evolved node B (HeNB), a wireless backhaul device, a radio network controller (RNC), a base station controller (BSC), a base transceiver station (BTS), a base band unit (BBU), a mobile switching center, a base station in a 6G communication system, an Open RAN, a Cloud RAN, a base station in other communication systems, an access node in a wireless fidelity (WiFi) system, and the like, but is not limited thereto.

[0192] In some embodiments, the technical solutions of the present disclosure can be applicable to an Open RAN architecture, at this time, the interfaces between or within the access network devices involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure can become internal interfaces of the Open RAN, and the processes and information interactions between these internal interfaces can be implemented through software or programs.

[0193] In some embodiments, the access network device can be composed of a central unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU), where the CU can also be referred to as a control unit. The CU-DU structure can split the protocol layers of the access network device, and some of the protocol layers are controlled by the CU, and the rest or all of the protocol layers are distributed in the DU and controlled by the CU, but not limited thereto.

[0194] In some embodiments, the core network device can include a first network element, a second network element, a third network element, and the like. The network element can be virtual or physical. The core network includes at least one of an evolved packet core (EPC), a 5G core network (5GCN), and a next generation core (NGC), for example. It should be noted that the number of core network devices can be one or more.

[0195] In some embodiments, the first network element can be used to provide positioning services, for example, it can be a location management network element (LMF) network element, and the name is not limited thereto. Alternatively, the first network element can also be a network element in the core network that provides other services, for example, the first network element can be a sensing function (SF) network element that provides sensing services, a network element that provides new services for other core networks, and the like.

[0196] In some embodiments, the second network element can be used to provide binding support functions, for example, it can be a binding support function (BSF) network element.

[0197] In some embodiments, the third network element can be used to provide access and mobility management functions, for example, it can be an access and mobility management function (AMF) network element.

[0198] It can be understood that the communication system described in the embodiments of the present disclosure is for more clearly illustrating the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present disclosure, and does not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions proposed by the embodiments of the present disclosure. Those skilled in the art can know that, with the evolution of system architecture and the appearance of new business scenarios, the technical solutions proposed by the embodiments of the present disclosure are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0199] The following embodiments of the present disclosure can be applied to the communication system 100 shown in FIG. 1 or part of the subject, but are not limited thereto. The subjects shown in FIG. 1 are illustrative, and the communication system can include all or part of the subjects in FIG. 1, or other subjects other than FIG. 1. The number and form of each subject is arbitrary, and the connection relationship between each subject is illustrative. Each subject can be connected or not connected, and the connection can be in any way, can be direct connection or indirect connection, can be wired connection or wireless connection.

[0200] Embodiments of the present disclosure can be applied to Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), LTE-Beyond (LTE-B), SUPER 3G, IMT-Advanced, 4th generation mobile communication system (4G), 5th generation mobile communication system (5G), 5G new radio (NR), Future Radio Access (FRA), New-Radio Access Technology (RAT), New Radio (NR), New radio access (NX), Future generation radio access (FX), Global System for Mobile communications (GSM (registered trademark)), CDMA2000, Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.20, Ultra-WideBand (UWB), Bluetooth (Bluetooth (registered trademark)), Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) network, Device-to-Device (D2D) system, Machine to Machine (M2M) system, Internet of Things (IoT) system, Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X), system using other communication methods, next-generation system expanded based thereon, and the like. In addition, a plurality of systems can be combined (for example, combination of LTE or LTE-A and 5G, and the like).

[0201] Optionally, the method of establishing a user plane connection between a Location Management Function (LMF) network element and a terminal can include the following two:

[0202] The first, network-initiated user plane connection establishment process.

[0203] The second, the terminal initiates the user plane connection establishment process.

[0204] Optionally, the specific steps of the "network-initiated user plane connection establishment process" in the first method can include the following steps:

[0205] Step 1, the LMF sends a user plane connection establishment command to the terminal through an access and mobility management function (AMF) network element, which can include a location service user plane address (LCS-UP address). For example, the LCS-UP address can be an Internet Protocol (IP) address of the LMF or a Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN) of the LMF.

[0206] Step 2, after receiving the user plane connection establishment command, if the terminal does not establish a packet data unit (PDU) session, the terminal will establish a PDU session for user plane positioning, for example, the terminal can establish a PDU session for the Location Service User Plane Protocol (LCS-UPP).

[0207] Step 3, the terminal sends a user plane connection establishment confirmation to the LMF through the AMF (i.e., through the control plane); the user plane connection establishment confirmation can be used to notify the LMF that the PDU session is established, and the terminal identity (ID) in the user plane connection establishment confirmation can be used to inform the LMF which terminal's PDU session is established.

[0208] Step 4, the terminal establishes a user plane connection (or Transport Layer Security (TLS) connection) with the LMF using the LCS-UP address received in step 1. During the process of establishing a user plane connection with the LMF, the terminal sends its terminal address to the LMF through the user plane, which can be an IP address of the terminal, and the terminal address can be used to inform the LMF which terminal is establishing a user plane connection with the LMF.

[0209] Step 5, when the terminal establishes the user plane connection with the LMF, the terminal also sends a user plane connection establishment confirmation to the LMF through the control plane (for example, through the AMF), and the user plane connection establishment confirmation is used to inform the LMF that the user plane connection has been established. Optionally, the terminal identifier can be included in the user plane connection establishment confirmation, which can be used to inform the LMF which terminal has established the user plane connection with the LMF.

[0210] Optionally, only one of steps 3 and 5 can be performed, for example, only step 3 can be performed, or only step 5 can be performed, or steps 3 and 5 can be performed simultaneously.

[0211] Optionally, the specific steps of "the terminal initiates the user plane connection establishment process" in the second method can include the following steps:

[0212] Step 0, the terminal sends a user plane connection establishment request to the LMF through the AMF to request to establish a user plane connection with the LMF.

[0213] Then, steps 1-5 are performed again.

[0214] However, in the above two user plane connection establishment processes, the LMF receives the terminal identifier sent by the terminal from the control plane, and receives the terminal address of the same terminal sent by the terminal from the user plane. The terminal identifier and the terminal address are different information corresponding to the same terminal, and the LMF can communicate based on the terminal address of the terminal when communicating with the terminal. However, the LMF cannot associate the terminal identifier and the terminal address of the same terminal, that is, the LMF cannot know that the terminal identifier and the terminal address it receives belong to the same terminal. At this time, since the terminal identifier is usually associated with some services, for example, it can be associated with the LCS-UPP service, if the LMF cannot associate the terminal identifier and the terminal address, the LMF only knows that the terminal corresponding to the terminal identifier is associated with the LCS-UPP service, but cannot know that the terminal corresponding to the terminal address is associated with the LCS-UPP service. Therefore, when the LMF communicates with the terminal based on the terminal address, the LMF cannot send the LCS-UPP message to the terminal through the user plane, thereby causing the LCS-UPP service to fail to proceed normally.

[0215] Based on this, the present disclosure provides a communication method to solve the above technical problems.

[0216] FIG. 2A is an interaction diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 2A, the present embodiment relates to a communication method for the communication system 100, and the method includes:

[0217] In step 2101, the terminal sends a user plane connection establishment request to the first network element via the third network element.

[0218] Optionally, in some embodiments, the third network element can be an AMF, and the first network element can be an LMF, for example.

[0219] Optionally, the user plane connection establishment request can be used by the terminal to request the establishment of a user plane connection with the first network element. Optionally, the user plane connection can also be referred to as a Transport Layer Security (TLS) connection, for example.

[0220] Optionally, the method in which the terminal sends the user plane connection establishment request to the first network element via the third network element can include the following steps: the terminal first sends the user plane connection establishment request to the third network element, and then the third network element sends the user plane connection establishment request to the first network element.

[0221] In step 2102, the first network element sends a user plane connection establishment command to the terminal via the third network element.

[0222] Optionally, the user plane connection establishment command can be used to instruct the terminal to perform a user plane connection establishment process with the first network element, and the user plane connection establishment command can include a Location Service User Plane (LCS-UP) address. The LCS-UP address can be an Internet Protocol (IP) address of the LMF or a Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN) of the LMF, for example. Optionally, the user plane connection establishment command can also include a first identifier, which can be used to identify the first network element and / or a User Plane Positioning Connection Management (UPP-CM) session. The first identifier can also be referred to as a correlation ID or other names, which are not limited in the present disclosure.

[0223] Optionally, the method that the first network element sends the user plane connection establishment command to the terminal through the third network element can comprise: the first network element first sends the user plane connection establishment command to the third network element, and then the third network element sends the user plane connection establishment command to the terminal. It should be noted that when the third network element sends the user plane connection command to the terminal, the first identifier needs to be mapped into the second identifier first, and then the second identifier and the LCS-UP address are carried in the user plane connection command and sent to the terminal. The first identifier and the second identifier have the same meaning, both of which are used to identify the first network element and / or the UPP-CM session, only the names are different, wherein the first identifier is used for transmission between the first network element and the third network element, and the second identifier is used for transmission between the third network element and the terminal. The second identifier can be called Routing ID or other names, and the present disclosure does not make specific limitation thereto.

[0224] In addition, it should also be noted that in some embodiments, the above step 2101 can be an optional step, which can be executed or not executed. Optionally, when step 2101 is not executed, it can be considered as a user plane connection establishment process triggered by the first network element. Optionally, when 2101 is executed, it can be considered as a user plane connection establishment process triggered by the terminal.

[0225] Step 2103, the terminal establishes a packet data unit (PDU) session for user plane positioning.

[0226] Optionally, after the terminal receives the user plane connection establishment command, if the terminal does not have a PDU session available for user plane positioning, the terminal can establish a PDU session for user plane positioning, for example, the terminal can establish a PDU session for the LCS-UPP. Optionally, the terminal can use a user equipment routing selection policy (UE Routing Selection Policy, URSP) including user plane positioning related PDU session parameters to establish a PDU session for user plane positioning. Optionally, the above-mentioned user plane positioning related PDU session parameters can comprise a dedicated data network name (Data Network Name, DNN) and / or network slice selection assistance information (Network Slice Selection Assistance Information, S-NSSAI). Optionally, the dedicated DNN and / or S-NSSAI can be obtained by the terminal from the core network.

[0227] Step 2104, the terminal sends the first confirmation and / or the second identifier to the third network element.

[0228] Optionally, after the terminal establishes the PDU session for user plane positioning in step 2103, the terminal can send the first acknowledgement and / or the second identifier to the third network element to indicate that the terminal has established the PDU session for user plane positioning.

[0229] Optionally, the first acknowledgement can be a user plane connection establishment acknowledgement, which is used to indicate that the terminal has established the PDU session for user plane positioning. For details of the second identifier, refer to the description of the above steps.

[0230] Optionally, the terminal can send the first acknowledgement and / or the second identifier to the third network element through an uplink non-access stratum (UL NAS TRANSPORT) message.

[0231] Step 2105: The third network element sends the first message to the first network element.

[0232] Optionally, after the third network element receives the first acknowledgement and / or the second identifier sent by the terminal, the third network element can map the second identifier to the first identifier, determine the terminal identifier of the terminal, and then send the first message to the first network element. The first message can include at least one of the first acknowledgement, the first identifier, and the terminal identifier. For details of the first acknowledgement and the first identifier, refer to the description of the above steps.

[0233] Optionally, the terminal identifier can include at least one of a subscriber permanent identifier (SUPI) and a generic public subscription identifier (GPSI). Optionally, the terminal identifier in the first message is used to inform the first network element which specific terminal has established the PDU session for user plane positioning.

[0234] Optionally, the third network element can send the first message to the first network element through Namf_Communication_N1MessageNotify.

[0235] Step 2106: The first network element sends the first request to the second network element.

[0236] Optionally, after the first network element receives the first message sent by the third network element, the first network element can send a first request to the second network element, and the terminal identifier of the terminal can be included in the first request. The first request can be used to request the terminal address of the terminal from the second network element. Optionally, the terminal address can be, for example, an IP address of the terminal, which can include, for example, an IPv4 address of the terminal and / or an IPv6 prefix of the terminal.

[0237] Optionally, in some embodiments, the second network element can be, for example, a binding support function (BSF) network element, which can manage the tuple of the terminal. Optionally, the tuple of the terminal can include, for example, the terminal address, the SUPI of the terminal, the GPSI of the terminal, the DNN corresponding to the terminal, and the S-NSSAI corresponding to the terminal. In addition, the first network element can send a first request to the second network element to request the second network element to retrieve the terminal address of the terminal from the tuple of the terminal based on the terminal identifier of the terminal.

[0238] Optionally, the first request described above can be, for example, an Nbsf_Management_Discovery request, and the first request can be used to request the second network element to query the terminal address of the terminal based on the terminal identifier of the terminal by invoking the Nbsf_Management_Discovery service.

[0239] It should be noted that, in some embodiments, before the first network element sends the first request to the second network element, the first network element can first query the second network element for managing the tuple of the terminal from the network repository function (NRF) network element, and then send the first request to the second network element queried. For example, the first network element can send a query request to the NRF network element, and the query request can include the terminal identifier of the terminal. After receiving the query request, the NRF network element can query the second network element for managing the tuple of the terminal based on the terminal identifier in the query request. Then, the NRF network element can send the network element identifier of the second network element queried to the first network element through a query response. Then, the first network element can send the first request to the corresponding second network element based on the network element identifier of the second network element to request the terminal address of the terminal.

[0240] Step 2107: The second network element determines the terminal address of the terminal based on the terminal identifier of the terminal.

[0241] Optionally, the second network element can query the terminal address of the terminal from the tuple of the terminal based on the terminal identifier of the terminal. For details, please refer to the above step description.

[0242] Step 2108, the second network element sends a first response to the first network element.

[0243] Optionally, the first response can comprise the terminal address of the terminal queried by the second network element.

[0244] In some embodiments, the first response can be, for example, Nbsf_Management_Discovery response.

[0245] Step 2109, the first network element associates the terminal identity of the terminal and the terminal address of the terminal.

[0246] Optionally, the first network element can associate the terminal identity and the terminal address of the same terminal with each other, that is, the first network element can determine the terminal identity and the terminal address of the same terminal as different information corresponding to the same terminal. In some embodiments, the first network element can also save the associated terminal identity and terminal address of the terminal into the context (UE context) of the terminal.

[0247] Step 2110, the terminal establishes a user plane connection with the first network element, and in the process of establishing the user plane connection, the first network element acquires the terminal address.

[0248] Optionally, the terminal can use the LCS-UP address received in the above-mentioned step 2102 to establish the user plane connection with the first network element.

[0249] And, optionally, the first network element can acquire the terminal address in the process of establishing the user plane connection ID.

[0250] Step 2111, the terminal sends a user plane connection establishment complete message and / or a second identity to the third network element.

[0251] Optionally, the user plane connection establishment complete message is used to indicate that the user plane connection between the terminal and the first network element is established. And the detailed description of the second identity can refer to the foregoing step description.

[0252] Optionally, the terminal can send the user plane connection establishment complete message and / or the second identity to the third network element through an UL NAS TRANSPORT message

[0253] Step 2112, the third network element sends a second message to the first network element.

[0254] Optionally, after the third network element receives the user plane connection establishment completion message and / or the second identifier sent by the terminal, the second identifier can be mapped to the corresponding first identifier, and then at least one of the first identifier, the user plane connection establishment completion message and the terminal identifier is included in the second message and sent to the first network element. For detailed description of the "first identifier, terminal identifier" here, please refer to the above step description. In addition, the terminal identifier in the second message is used to inform the first network element which terminal has established a user plane connection with the first network element.

[0255] Optionally, the third network element can send the second message to the first network element through Namf_Communication_N1MessageNotify.

[0256] Step 2113, the first network element and the terminal communicate through the user plane connection based on the terminal identifier and / or the terminal address.

[0257] Optionally, in some embodiments, the first network element can perform the service associated with the terminal identifier through the user plane with the terminal based on the terminal address. For example, when the terminal identifier is associated with the LCS-UPP service, the first network element can send the LCS-UPP message to the terminal through the user plane connection based on the terminal address of the same terminal to perform the LCS-UPP service, so as to ensure the successful execution of the LCS-UPP service. Optionally, when the first network element communicates with the terminal through the user plane connection based on the terminal address, it can be through UL LCS-UPtransport message and / or DL LCS-UPtransport message to perform relevant communication.

[0258] In the above embodiments, when the first network element establishes the user plane connection with the terminal, if the terminal identifier of the terminal is obtained, the first network element sends a first request to the second network element, the first request including the terminal identifier of the terminal, the second network element can determine the terminal address of the terminal based on the terminal identifier of the terminal, and send the terminal address of the terminal to the terminal through a first response, and then the first network element can associate the terminal identifier and the terminal address of the terminal. The terminal identifier and the terminal address can be different information corresponding to the same terminal. As can be seen, in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the first network element associates the terminal identifier and the terminal address of the terminal in the process of establishing the user plane connection with the terminal, that is, the first network element determines that the terminal identifier and the terminal address of the same terminal are different information corresponding to the same terminal. Therefore, when the terminal identifier is associated with the first service, it indicates that the terminal corresponding to the terminal identifier is associated with the first service. At this time, based on the association relationship between the terminal identifier and the terminal address, the first network element can deduce that the terminal address corresponding to the terminal is associated with the first service, that is, the terminal address is also associated with the first service, so that the first network element can perform the first service with the terminal based on the terminal address. Or, when the terminal address is associated with the second service, it indicates that the terminal corresponding to the terminal address is associated with the second service. At this time, based on the association relationship between the terminal identifier and the terminal address, the first network element can deduce that the terminal corresponding to the terminal identifier is associated with the second service, that is, the terminal identifier is also associated with the second service, so that the first network element can perform the second service with the terminal based on the terminal identifier. Therefore, the situation that the first network element cannot perform the service associated with the terminal address based on the terminal identifier, or the first network element cannot perform the service associated with the terminal identifier based on the terminal address, can be avoided, ensuring the normal execution of the service between the first network element and the terminal, and ensuring the communication stability and communication efficiency.

[0259] The communication method related to the embodiments of the present disclosure can include at least one of steps 2101-2113. For example, step 2101 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step 2102 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and steps 2101+2102 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, but not limited thereto.

[0260] In the present embodiment or example, each step can be independent, arbitrarily combined or exchanged in order, the optional mode or optional example can be arbitrarily combined, and can be arbitrarily combined with any step of other embodiments or other examples.

[0261] FIG. 2B is an interaction diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 2B, the embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a communication method for a communication system 100, and the above method includes:

[0262] Step 2201, the terminal sends a user plane connection establishment request to the first network element through the third network element.

[0263] Step 2202, the first network element sends a user plane connection establishment command to the terminal through the third network element.

[0264] Step 2203, the terminal establishes a packet data unit (PDU) session for user plane positioning.

[0265] Step 2204, the terminal sends the first confirmation and / or the second identifier to the third network element.

[0266] Step 2205, the third network element sends the first message to the first network element.

[0267] Step 2206, the terminal establishes a user plane connection with the first network element, and in the process of establishing the user plane connection, the first network element obtains the terminal address.

[0268] For detailed descriptions of steps 2201-2206, refer to the descriptions of the above embodiments.

[0269] Step 2207, the first network element sends a first request to the second network element.

[0270] Optionally, after obtaining the terminal address in the process of establishing the user plane connection, the first network element can send a first request to the second network element, and optionally, the terminal address of the terminal can be included in the first request, and the first request can be used to request the terminal identifier of the terminal from the second network element. For detailed descriptions of the terminal identifier, the terminal address, and the second network element, refer to the descriptions of the above embodiments.

[0271] Optionally, the first request described above can be, for example, a Nbsf_Management_Discovery request, and the first request can be used to request the second network element to query the terminal identifier of the terminal based on the terminal address of the terminal by invoking the Nbsf_Management_Discovery service.

[0272] It should be noted that in some embodiments, before the first network element sends the first request to the second network element, the first network element can first query the second network element for managing the tuple of the terminal from the NRF network element, and then send the first request to the second network element queried. For example, the first network element can send a query request to the NRF network element, which can include the terminal address of the terminal. After receiving the query request, the NRF network element can query the second network element for managing the tuple of the terminal based on the terminal address in the query request. Then, the NRF network element sends the network element identifier of the second network element queried to the first network element through a query response. Then, the first network element can send the first request to the corresponding second network element based on the network element identifier of the second network element to request the terminal identifier of the terminal.

[0273] Step 2208, the second network element determines the terminal identifier of the terminal based on the terminal address of the terminal.

[0274] Optionally, the second network element can query the terminal identifier of the terminal from the tuple of the terminal based on the terminal address of the terminal. For detailed description of this part, please refer to the above step description.

[0275] Step 2209, the second network element sends a first response to the first network element.

[0276] Optionally, the first response can include the terminal identifier of the terminal queried by the second network element.

[0277] In some embodiments, the first response can be, for example, Nbsf_Management_Discovery response.

[0278] Step 2210, the first network element associates the terminal identifier of the terminal and the terminal address of the terminal.

[0279] Step 2211, the terminal sends a user plane connection establishment complete message and / or a second identifier to the third network element.

[0280] Step 2212, the third network element sends a second message to the first network element.

[0281] Step 2213, the first network element and the terminal communicate through the user plane connection based on the terminal identifier and / or the terminal address.

[0282] For detailed description of steps 2210-2213, please refer to the above embodiment description.

[0283] In the above embodiments, when the first network element establishes the user plane connection with the terminal, if the terminal address of the terminal is obtained, the first network element sends a first request to the second network element, the first request including the terminal address of the terminal, the second network element can determine the terminal identifier of the terminal based on the terminal address of the terminal, and send the terminal identifier of the terminal to the terminal through a first response, and then the first network element can associate the terminal address and the terminal identifier of the terminal. The terminal address and the terminal identifier can be different information corresponding to the same terminal. As can be seen, in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the first network element associates the terminal address and the terminal identifier in the process of establishing the user plane connection with the terminal, that is, the first network element determines the terminal address and the terminal identifier of the same terminal as different information corresponding to the same terminal. Therefore, when the terminal address is associated with the first service, it indicates that the terminal corresponding to the terminal address is associated with the first service. At this time, based on the association relationship between the terminal address and the terminal identifier, the first network element can deduce that the terminal corresponding to the terminal identifier is associated with the first service, that is, the terminal identifier is also associated with the first service, so that the first network element can perform the first service with the terminal based on the terminal identifier. Or, when the terminal identifier is associated with the second service, it indicates that the terminal corresponding to the terminal identifier is associated with the second service. At this time, based on the association relationship between the terminal address and the terminal identifier, the first network element can deduce that the terminal corresponding to the terminal address is associated with the second service, that is, the terminal address is also associated with the second service, so that the first network element can perform the second service with the terminal based on the terminal address. This can avoid the situation that the first network element cannot perform the service associated with the terminal identifier based on the terminal address, or the first network element cannot perform the service associated with the terminal address based on the terminal identifier, ensuring the normal execution of the service between the first network element and the terminal, and ensuring the communication stability and communication efficiency.

[0284] The communication method related to the embodiments of the present disclosure can include at least one of steps 2201-2213. For example, step 2201 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step 2202 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and steps 2201+2202 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, but not limited thereto.

[0285] In the present embodiment or example, each step can be independent, arbitrarily combined or exchanged in order, the optional mode or optional example can be arbitrarily combined, and can be arbitrarily combined with any step of other embodiments or other examples.

[0286] FIG. 2C is an interaction diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 2C, the embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a communication method for a communication system 100, and the above method includes:

[0287] Step 2301, the terminal sends a user plane connection establishment request to the first network element through the third network element.

[0288] Step 2302, the first network element sends a user plane connection establishment command to the terminal through the third network element.

[0289] Step 2303, the terminal establishes a packet data unit (PDU) session for user plane positioning.

[0290] Step 2304, the terminal sends the first confirmation and / or the second identifier to the third network element.

[0291] Step 2305, the third network element sends the first message to the first network element.

[0292] Step 2306, the terminal establishes a user plane connection with the first network element, and in the process of establishing the user plane connection, the first network element obtains the terminal address.

[0293] Step 2307, the terminal sends a user plane connection establishment complete message and / or the second identifier to the third network element.

[0294] Step 2308, the third network element sends the second message to the first network element.

[0295] For detailed descriptions of steps 2301-2308, refer to the descriptions of the above embodiments.

[0296] Step 2309, the first network element sends a first request to the second network element.

[0297] Optionally, after the first network element receives the second message sent by the third network element, the first network element can send a first request to the second network element, and optionally, the first request can include the terminal identifier of the terminal received by the first network element through the second message in step 2308 above, and the first request can be used to request the terminal address of the terminal from the second network element. For detailed descriptions of the terminal identifier, the terminal address, and the second network element, refer to the descriptions of the above embodiments.

[0298] Optionally, the first request can be, for example, a Nbsf_Management_Discovery request, and the first request can be used to request the second network element to query the terminal address of the terminal based on the terminal identifier of the terminal by invoking the Nbsf_Management_Discovery service.

[0299] It should be noted that in some embodiments, before the first network element sends the first request to the second network element, the first network element can first query the second network element for managing the tuple of the terminal from the NRF network element, and then send the first request to the second network element queried. For example, the first network element can send a query request to the NRF network element, and the query request can include the terminal identifier of the terminal. After receiving the query request, the NRF network element can query the second network element for managing the tuple of the terminal based on the terminal identifier in the query request. Then, the NRF network element sends the network element identifier of the second network element queried to the first network element through a query response, and the first network element can send the first request to the corresponding second network element based on the network element identifier of the second network element to request the terminal address of the terminal.

[0300] Step 2310, the second network element determines the terminal address of the terminal based on the terminal identifier of the terminal.

[0301] Optionally, the second network element can query the terminal address of the terminal from the tuple of the terminal based on the terminal identifier of the terminal. For detailed description of this part, please refer to the above step description.

[0302] Step 2311, the second network element sends a first response to the first network element.

[0303] Optionally, the first response can include the terminal address of the terminal queried by the second network element.

[0304] In some embodiments, the first response can be, for example, a Nbsf_Management_Discovery response.

[0305] Step 2312, the first network element associates the terminal identifier of the terminal and the terminal address of the terminal.

[0306] Step 2313, the first network element communicates with the terminal based on the terminal identifier and / or the terminal address through the user plane connection.

[0307] For detailed description of steps 2312-2313, please refer to the above embodiment description.

[0308] In the above embodiments, when the first network element establishes a user plane connection with the terminal, if the terminal identifier of the terminal is obtained, the first network element sends a first request to the second network element, the first request including the terminal identifier of the terminal, and the second network element can determine the terminal address of the terminal based on the terminal identifier of the terminal and send the terminal address of the terminal to the terminal through a first response, and then the first network element can associate the terminal identifier and the terminal address of the terminal. The terminal identifier and the terminal address can be different information corresponding to the same terminal. Therefore, in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the first network element associates the terminal identifier and the terminal address of the terminal in the process of establishing a user plane connection with the terminal, that is, the first network element determines the terminal identifier and the terminal address of the same terminal as different information corresponding to the same terminal. Therefore, when the terminal identifier is associated with the first service, it indicates that the terminal corresponding to the terminal identifier is associated with the first service. At this time, based on the association relationship between the terminal identifier and the terminal address, the first network element can deduce that the terminal address corresponding to the terminal is associated with the first service, that is, the terminal address is also associated with the first service, so that the first network element can perform the first service with the terminal based on the terminal address. Or, when the terminal address is associated with the second service, it indicates that the terminal corresponding to the terminal address is associated with the second service. At this time, based on the association relationship between the terminal identifier and the terminal address, the first network element can deduce that the terminal corresponding to the terminal identifier is associated with the second service, that is, the terminal identifier is also associated with the second service, so that the first network element can perform the second service with the terminal based on the terminal identifier. Therefore, the situation that the first network element cannot perform the service associated with the terminal address based on the terminal identifier, or the first network element cannot perform the service associated with the terminal identifier based on the terminal address, can be avoided, ensuring the normal execution of the service between the first network element and the terminal, and ensuring the communication stability and communication efficiency.

[0309] The communication method related to the embodiments of the present disclosure can include at least one of steps 2301 to 2313. For example, step 2301 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step 2302 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and steps 2301+2302 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, but are not limited thereto.

[0310] In the present embodiment or example, each step can be independent, arbitrarily combined or exchanged in order, the optional mode or optional example can be arbitrarily combined, and can be arbitrarily combined with any step of other embodiments or other examples.

[0311] It should be noted that the above embodiments of FIG. 2A-2C can be executed independently, or any two of the above embodiments of FIG. 2A-2C can be combined, that is, the first network element can request the terminal address corresponding to the terminal identifier from the second network element after receiving the first message, and the first network element can request the terminal identifier corresponding to the terminal address from the second network element after obtaining the terminal address; or the first network element can request the terminal address corresponding to the terminal identifier from the second network element after receiving the first message, and the first network element can request the terminal identifier corresponding to the terminal address from the second network element after receiving the second message; or the first network element can request the terminal identifier corresponding to the terminal address from the second network element after obtaining the terminal address, and the first network element can request the terminal identifier corresponding to the terminal address from the second network element after receiving the second message. In other embodiments, the above embodiments of FIG. 2A-2C can also be executed simultaneously, that is, the first network element can request the terminal address corresponding to the terminal identifier from the second network element after receiving the first message, and the first network element can also request the terminal identifier corresponding to the terminal address from the second network element after obtaining the terminal address; and the first network element can request the terminal identifier corresponding to the terminal address from the second network element after receiving the second message.

[0312] FIG. 3A is a flow diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 3A, the present embodiment relates to a communication method for a first network element, and the method comprises:

[0313] Step 3101, receiving a user plane connection establishment request.

[0314] Step 3102, sending a user plane connection establishment command.

[0315] Step 3103, receiving a first message.

[0316] Step 3104, sending a first request to a second network element.

[0317] Step 3105, receiving a first response sent by the second network element.

[0318] Step 3106, associating a terminal identifier of a terminal and a terminal address of the terminal.

[0319] Step 3107, obtaining the terminal address in the process of establishing the user plane connection.

[0320] Step 3108, receiving a second message.

[0321] Step 3109, communicating with the terminal through the user plane connection based on the terminal identifier and / or the terminal address.

[0322] Wherein, the detailed introduction about steps 3101-3109 can refer to the above embodiment description.

[0323] The communication method related to the embodiments of the present disclosure can include at least one of steps 3101-3109. For example, step 3101 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step 3102 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and steps 3101+3102 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, but not limited thereto.

[0324] In the present embodiment or example, each step can be independently, arbitrarily combined or exchanged in order, the optional mode or optional example can be arbitrarily combined, and can be arbitrarily combined with any step of other embodiments or other examples.

[0325] FIG. 3B is a flow diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 3B, the embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a communication method for a first network element, and the above method comprises:

[0326] Step 3201, receiving a user plane connection establishment request.

[0327] Step 3202, sending a user plane connection establishment command.

[0328] Step 3203, receiving a first message.

[0329] Step 3204, obtaining a terminal address in the process of establishing a user plane connection.

[0330] Step 3205, sending a first request to a second network element.

[0331] Step 3206, receiving a first response sent by the second network element.

[0332] Step 3207, associating a terminal identifier of a terminal and a terminal address of the terminal.

[0333] Step 3208, receiving a second message.

[0334] Step 3209, communicating with the terminal through the user plane connection based on the terminal identifier and / or the terminal address.

[0335] Wherein, the detailed introduction about steps 3201-3209 can refer to the above embodiment description.

[0336] The communication method related to the embodiments of the present disclosure can include at least one of steps 3201-3209. For example, step 3201 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step 3202 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and steps 3201+3202 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, but not limited thereto.

[0337] In the embodiments or examples, each step can be independent, combined arbitrarily or the order exchanged, the optional mode or optional example can be combined arbitrarily, and can be combined arbitrarily with any step of other embodiments or other examples without contradiction.

[0338] FIG. 3C is a flowchart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 3C, the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a communication method for a first network element, and the method comprises:

[0339] Step 3301, receiving a user plane connection establishment request.

[0340] Step 3302, sending a user plane connection establishment command.

[0341] Step 3303, receiving a first message.

[0342] Step 3304, obtaining a terminal address in the process of establishing a user plane connection.

[0343] Step 3305, receiving a second message.

[0344] Step 3306, sending a first request to a second network element.

[0345] Step 3307, receiving a first response sent by the second network element.

[0346] Step 3308, associating a terminal identifier of a terminal and a terminal address of the terminal.

[0347] Step 3309, communicating with the terminal through the user plane connection based on the terminal identifier and / or the terminal address.

[0348] For details of steps 3301-3309, refer to the description of the above embodiments.

[0349] The communication method related by the embodiment of the present disclosure can include at least one of steps 3301-3309. For example, step 3301 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step 3302 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and steps 3301+3302 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, but not limited thereto.

[0350] In the embodiments or examples, each step can be independent, combined arbitrarily or the order exchanged, the optional mode or optional example can be combined arbitrarily, and can be combined arbitrarily with any step of other embodiments or other examples without contradiction.

[0351] FIG. 3D is a flowchart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 3D, the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a communication method for a first network element, and the method comprises:

[0352] In step 3401, when a user plane connection is established with the terminal, first information of the terminal is acquired, and a first request is sent to a second network element.

[0353] In step 3402, a first response sent by the second network element is received.

[0354] In step 3403, the first information is associated with second information.

[0355] Optionally, the first request includes the first information of the terminal.

[0356] Optionally, the second information of the terminal is included in the first response.

[0357] Optionally, the first information and the second information are different information corresponding to the same terminal.

[0358] Optionally, the first information is a terminal identifier, and the second information is a terminal address; or the first information is a terminal address, and the second information is a terminal identifier.

[0359] Optionally, in the process of establishing the user plane connection with the terminal, the first network element acquires the terminal identifier and the terminal address, wherein the first network element acquires the terminal identifier in a manner different from that in which the first network element acquires the terminal address.

[0360] Optionally, the first information is a terminal identifier.

[0361] The acquiring of the first information of the terminal includes at least one of the following:

[0362] A first message sent by a third network element is received, and the first message includes at least one of a first confirmation, a first identifier, and a terminal identifier; the first confirmation is a user plane connection establishment confirmation, and the first identifier is used to identify the first network element and / or a user plane positioning connection management (UPP-CM) session.

[0363] A second message sent by the third network element is received, and the second message includes at least one of a user plane connection establishment completion message, a first identifier, and a terminal identifier.

[0364] Optionally, the first information is a terminal address.

[0365] The acquiring of the first information of the terminal includes:

[0366] In the process of establishing the user plane connection with the terminal, the terminal address of the terminal is acquired.

[0367] Optionally, the terminal identifier includes at least one of the following:

[0368] Subscription User Permanent Identity, SUPI;

[0369] Generic Public Subscription Identity, GPSI.

[0370] Optionally, the terminal address is an Internet Protocol, IP, address of the terminal.

[0371] Optionally, the IP address of the terminal comprises at least one of:

[0372] an IPv4 address;

[0373] an IPv6 prefix.

[0374] Optionally, the first request further comprises a first indication, the first indication being used to indicate that the first network element requests the second information of the terminal from the second network element.

[0375] Optionally, the first request is: Nbsf_Management_Discovery request.

[0376] the first response is: Nbsf_Management_Discovery response.

[0377] Optionally, the method further comprises:

[0378] sending a user plane connection setup command.

[0379] Optionally, before the sending of the user plane connection setup command, the method further comprises:

[0380] receiving a user plane connection setup request.

[0381] Optionally, the method further comprises:

[0382] communicating with the terminal through the user plane connection based on the terminal identity and / or the terminal address.

[0383] The details of steps 3401-3403 can refer to the above embodiment description.

[0384] The communication method related to the embodiments of the present disclosure can comprise at least one of steps 3401-3403. For example, step 3401 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step 3402 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and steps 3401+3402 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, but are not limited thereto.

[0385] In the embodiments or examples, each step can be independent, arbitrarily combined or the order exchanged without contradiction, the optional mode or optional example can be arbitrarily combined, and can be arbitrarily combined with any step of other embodiments or other examples.

[0386] FIG. 4A is a flowchart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 4A, the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a communication method for a second network element, and the method comprises:

[0387] Step 4101, receiving a first request sent by a first network element.

[0388] Step 4102, determining a terminal address of a terminal based on a terminal identifier of the terminal.

[0389] Step 4103, sending a first response to the first network element.

[0390] The detailed description of steps 4101-4103 can be referred to the above embodiment description.

[0391] The communication method related to the embodiment of the present disclosure can include at least one of steps 4101-4103. For example, step 4101 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step 4102 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and steps 4101+4102 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, but not limited thereto.

[0392] In the embodiments or examples, each step can be independent, arbitrarily combined or the order exchanged without contradiction, the optional mode or optional example can be arbitrarily combined, and can be arbitrarily combined with any step of other embodiments or other examples.

[0393] FIG. 4B is a flowchart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 4B, the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a communication method for a second network element, and the method comprises:

[0394] Step 4201, receiving a first request sent by a first network element.

[0395] Step 4202, determining a terminal identifier of a terminal based on a terminal address of the terminal.

[0396] Step 4203, sending a first response to the first network element.

[0397] The detailed description of steps 4201-4203 can be referred to the above embodiment description.

[0398] The communication method related to the embodiments of the present disclosure can include at least one of steps 4201-4203. For example, step 4201 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step 4202 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, steps 4201+4202 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, but are not limited thereto.

[0399] In the present embodiment or example, each step can be independent, arbitrarily combined or exchanged in order, optional modes or optional examples can be arbitrarily combined, and can be arbitrarily combined with any step of other embodiments or other examples.

[0400] FIG. 4C is a flow diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 4C, the embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a communication method for a second network element, the method comprising:

[0401] Step 4301, receiving a first request sent by a first network element.

[0402] Step 4302, determining second information of the terminal based on the first information of the terminal.

[0403] Step 4303, sending a first response to the first network element.

[0404] Optionally, the first request includes the first information of the terminal.

[0405] Optionally, the first information and the second information are different information corresponding to the same terminal.

[0406] Optionally, the second information of the terminal is included in the first response.

[0407] Optionally, the first information is a terminal identifier, and the second information is a terminal address; or the first information is a terminal address, and the second information is a terminal identifier.

[0408] Optionally, the determining the second information of the terminal based on the first information of the terminal comprises:

[0409] Retrieving the second information of the terminal from a tuple based on the first information of the terminal.

[0410] Optionally, the terminal identifier includes at least one of:

[0411] A subscription user permanent identifier (SUPI);

[0412] A general public user identifier (GPSI).

[0413] Optionally, the terminal address is an Internet Protocol (IP) address of the terminal.

[0414] Optionally, the IP address of the terminal comprises at least one of:

[0415] an IPv4 address;

[0416] an IPv6 prefix.

[0417] Optionally, the first request further comprises a first indication, the first indication being used to indicate that the first network element requests the second information of the terminal from the second network element.

[0418] Optionally, the first request is an Nbsf_Management_Discovery request.

[0419] The first response is an Nbsf_Management_Discovery response.

[0420] Details about steps 4301-4303 can be referred to the above embodiment description.

[0421] The communication method related to the embodiments of the present disclosure can comprise at least one of steps 4301-4303. For example, step 4301 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step 4302 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and steps 4301+4302 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, but are not limited thereto.

[0422] In the present embodiment or example, each step can be independent, arbitrarily combined or exchanged in order, the optional mode or optional example can be arbitrarily combined, and can be arbitrarily combined with any step of other embodiments or other examples.

[0423] FIG. 5A is a flow diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 5A, the embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a communication method for a communication system comprising a first network element and a second network element, the method comprising at least one of:

[0424] Step 5101, when the first network element establishes a user plane connection with a terminal, obtaining first information of the terminal, and sending a first request to the second network element;

[0425] Step 5102, the second network element receives the first request sent by the first network element.

[0426] Step 5103, the second network element determines second information of the terminal based on the first information of the terminal;

[0427] Step 5104, the second network element sends a first response to the first network element,

[0428] Step 5105, the first network element receives the first response sent by the second network element;

[0429] Step 5106: The first network element associates the first information with the second information.

[0430] Optional implementation of steps 5101-5106 can refer to the above-mentioned embodiments.

[0431] In some embodiments, the above-mentioned method can include the method described in the above-mentioned embodiments of the communication system side, the terminal side, the network device side, etc., which will not be repeated here.

[0432] The communication method related to the embodiments of the present disclosure can include at least one of steps 5101-5106. For example, step 5101 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and step 5102 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, but not limited thereto.

[0433] In the present embodiment or embodiment, each step can be independent, arbitrarily combined or exchanged in order, and optional modes or optional examples can be arbitrarily combined, and can be arbitrarily combined with any step of other embodiments or other embodiments.

[0434] The following is an exemplary introduction to the above-mentioned method.

[0435] The present disclosure proposes a method for an LMF to associate a UE address (or UE IP, UE IP address, IP address of the UE, etc.) or a UE ID (e.g., SUPI and / or GPSI) by retrieving the UE address or UE ID from a BSF.

[0436] FIG. 5B is an interaction diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 5B, the method can include the following steps:

[0437] 0. The UE sends a user plane connection establishment request to the LMF through the AMF, requesting to establish a user plane connection with the LMF. Wherein, the UE can be understood as the terminal of the foregoing embodiments, the AMF can be understood as the third network element of the foregoing embodiments, and the LMF can be understood as the first network element of the foregoing embodiments.

[0438] 1. The LMF sends a user plane connection establishment command to the UE through the AMF, containing an LMF LCS-UP address and an association ID (i.e., the first identifier of the foregoing embodiments). The LMF LCS-UP address can be an IP address or FQDN of the LMF, and the association ID can identify the LMF and can identify the UPP-CM session.

[0439] 2. If no PDU session is established for the LCS-UPP, the UE establishes a PDU session for the LCS-UPP.

[0440] 3a. The UE sends a user plane connection setup acknowledgement and the received routing ID (i.e. the second identity of the preceding embodiment) to the AMF to inform the PDU connectivity.

[0441] The UE sends an uplink non-access stratum (UL NAS TRANSPORT) message to the AMF including: a user plane connection setup acknowledgement, a routing ID.

[0442] 3b. The AMF maps the routing ID to the corresponding association ID and forwards the user plane connection setup acknowledgement with the association ID received from the UE to the LMF. In addition, the AMF also sends the UE ID (e.g. SUPI and / or GPSI) to the LMF.

[0443] The routing ID and the association ID are the same identifier with different names.

[0444] The AMF sends a Namf_Communication_N1MessageNotify to the LMF including: a user plane connection setup acknowledgement, an association ID, a UE ID;

[0445] 4a. If steps 3a and 3b are performed, the UE ID and the UE address are associated when the LMF receives the user plane connection setup acknowledgement from the AMF, the LMF sends a Nbsf_Management_Discovery request message to the BSF (i.e. the second network element of the preceding) to request the UE address. The Nbsf_Management_Discovery request message includes the UE ID (i.e. SUPI and / or GPSI) and can also include a request indication for the UE address (i.e. the first indication of the preceding), which is optional.

[0446] The LMF sends a Nbsf_Management_Discovery request message to the BSF including: SUPI and / or GPSI, a request indication for the UE address (i.e. the first indication of the preceding).

[0447] 4b. The BSF retrieves the UE address from the tuple based on the SUPI and / or GPSI received from the LMF. Wherein, the tuple includes the UE address, SUPI, GPSI, DNN, S-NSSAI and is maintained at the BSF. The BSF includes the retrieved UE address in a Nbsf_Management_Discovery response message. The UE address can be an IPv4 address and / or an IPv6 prefix.

[0448] The BSF sends a Nbsf_Management_Discovery response to the LMF including: the UE address.

[0449] The LMF associates the UE ID with the UE address and saves it as part of the UE context.

[0450] 5. The UE establishes a user plane connection (or called TLS connection) with the LMF using the LMF LCS-UP address received in step 1 above.

[0451] 6a. When the TLS connection (also called: user plane connection) is established with the UE, the LMF obtains the UE address but cannot identify the UE based on the UE address. To associate the UE ID and the UE address, the LMF sends a Nbsf_Management_Discovery request message to the BSF to request the UE ID. The Nbsf_Management_Discovery request message includes the obtained UE address and can also include an indication of the requested SUPI and GPSI, which is optional.

[0452] The LMF sends a Nbsf_Management_Discovery request to the BSF including: UE address, request SUPI indication, request GPSI indication.

[0453] 6b. Based on the UE address received from the LMF, the BSF retrieves the SUPI and / or GPSI from a tuple. The tuple includes the UE address, SUPI, GPSI, DNN, S-NSSAI and is maintained at the BSF. The BSF includes the retrieved SUPI and / or GPSI in a Nbsf_Management_Discovery response message.

[0454] The BSF sends a Nbsf_Management_Discovery response to the LMF including the SUPI and / or GPSI.

[0455] 7a. The UE sends a user plane connection establishment complete message and the received routing ID to the AMF to inform the establishment of the TLS connection.

[0456] The UE sends to the AMF: UL NAS transport including user plane connection establishment complete, routing ID.

[0457] 7b. The AMF maps the routing ID to the corresponding association ID and forwards the user plane connection establishment complete message received from the UE with the association ID to the LMF in its entirety. In addition, the AMF also sends the UE ID (e.g. SUPI and / or GPSI) to the LMF.

[0458] The AMF sends a Namf_Communication_N1MessageNotify to the LMF including: user plane connection establishment complete message, association ID, UE ID.

[0459] 8a+8b. After receiving the user plane connection setup complete message from the LMF, the LMF sends a request message to the BSF to request the UE address using the UE ID, as described in steps 4a and 4b.

[0460] Optionally, only steps 4a+4b can be performed without performing steps 6a+6b or steps 8a+8b; or only steps 6a+6b can be performed without performing steps 4a+4b or steps 8a+8b; or only steps 8a+8b can be performed without performing steps 4a+4b or steps 6a+6b.

[0461] 9. The UE and the LMF communicate UL LCS-UPtransport messages and / or DL LCS-UPtransport messages via the established user plane connection.

[0462] Optionally, based on the present method, the BSF service and service operation are updated, and the following Table 1 shows the information related to the NF service provided by the BSF.

[0463] Table 1

[0464] As shown in Table 1 above, the LMF is added to the user of the Nbsf_Management_Discovery service operation. The new interface between the LMF and the BSF and between the LMFs can invoke the Nbsf_Management_Discovery service operation.

[0465] Optionally, in the present method, the LMF can associate the UE address and the UE ID to identify the UE in the user plane using the UE address.

[0466] Optionally, in the present method, for the LMF, the LMF can invoke the Nbsf_Management_Discovery service operation through the new interface between the BSF and the LMF. The LMF can retrieve the UE address of a specific SUPI and / or GPSI from the BSF. The LMF can retrieve the SUPI or GPSI of the UE address from the BSF.

[0467] For the BSF, the BSF can invoke the Nbsf_Management_Discovery service operation through the new interface between the BSF and the LMF. The BSF can retrieve the UE address of a specific SUPI and / or GPSI from the tuple and send it to the LMF. The BSF can retrieve the SUPI and / or GPSI of a specific UE address from the tuple and send it to the LMF.

[0468] The embodiments of the present disclosure further provide a device for implementing any of the above methods, for example, a device comprising units or modules for implementing the steps performed by the terminal in any of the above methods. For another example, another device is further provided, comprising units or modules for implementing the steps performed by the network equipment (such as an access network device, a core network function node, a core network device, etc.) in any of the above methods.

[0469] It should be understood that the division of each unit or module in the above device is only a logical function division, and all or part of the units or modules can be integrated into one physical entity or physically separated in actual implementation. In addition, the units or modules in the device can be implemented in the form of processor invoking software: for example, the device comprises a processor connected with a memory, the memory stores instructions, and the processor invokes the instructions stored in the memory to implement any of the above methods or to implement the functions of each unit or module of the device, wherein the processor is a general processor such as a central processing unit (CPU) or a microprocessor, and the memory is a memory in the device or a memory outside the device. Alternatively, the units or modules in the device can be implemented in the form of hardware circuit, and the functions of part or all of the units or modules can be implemented by the design of the hardware circuit, and the hardware circuit can be understood as one or more processors; for example, in one implementation, the hardware circuit is an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), and the functions of part or all of the units or modules are implemented by the design of the logical relationship between the elements in the circuit; for another example, in another implementation, the hardware circuit is a programmable logic device (PLD), and taking a field programmable gate array (FPGA) as an example, it can include a large number of logic gate circuits, and the connection relationship between the logic gate circuits is configured by a configuration file, so as to implement the functions of part or all of the units or modules. All units or modules of the above device can be implemented in the form of processor invoking software, or all units or modules can be implemented in the form of hardware circuit, or part of the units or modules are implemented in the form of processor invoking software, and the remaining part is implemented in the form of hardware circuit.

[0470] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the processor is a circuit with signal processing capability. In one implementation, the processor can be a circuit with instruction reading and running capability, such as a central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, a graphics processing unit (GPU) (which can be understood as a microprocessor), a digital signal processor (DSP), or the like. In another implementation, the processor can implement certain functions through a logical relationship of hardware circuits, and the logical relationship of the hardware circuits is fixed or can be reconfigured. For example, the processor is a hardware circuit implemented by an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or a programmable logic device (PLD), such as an FPGA. In the reconfigurable hardware circuit, the processor loads a configuration document to implement the configuration of the hardware circuit. It can be understood that the processor loads instructions to implement the functions of the above part or all units or modules. In addition, the hardware circuit can also be designed for artificial intelligence, which can be understood as an ASIC, such as a neural network processing unit (NPU), a tensor processing unit (TPU), a deep learning processing unit (DPU), or the like.

[0471] FIG. 6A is a structural schematic diagram of a first network element according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 6A, the first network element includes:

[0472] The transceiver module is configured to acquire first information of the terminal when establishing a user plane connection with the terminal, and send a first request including the first information of the terminal to a second network element.

[0473] The transceiver module is further configured to receive a first response sent by the second network element, and the first response includes second information of the terminal; the first information and the second information are different information corresponding to the same terminal.

[0474] The processing module is configured to associate the first information and the second information.

[0475] Optionally, the processing module is configured to perform the steps related to “processing” performed by the first network element in any of the above methods, and the transceiver module is configured to perform the steps related to “transceiving” performed by the first network element in any of the above methods. Details are not described herein.

[0476] FIG. 6B is a structural schematic diagram of a second network element according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 6B, the second network element includes:

[0477] a transceiver configured to receive a first request sent by a first network element, the first request including first information of the terminal;

[0478] a processing module configured to determine second information of the terminal based on the first information of the terminal; the first information and the second information are different information corresponding to the same terminal;

[0479] the transceiver is further configured to send a first response to the first network element, the first response including the second information of the terminal.

[0480] Optionally, the transceiver is configured to perform steps related to "transceiving" performed by the second network element in any of the above methods, and the processing module is configured to perform steps related to "processing" performed by the second network element in any of the above methods. Details are not described herein.

[0481] FIG. 7A is a structural schematic diagram of a communication device 7100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The communication device 7100 can be a network device (such as an access network device, a core network device, etc.), a terminal (such as a user equipment, etc.), a chip, a chip system, or a processor supporting the network device to implement any of the above methods, or a chip, a chip system, or a processor supporting the terminal to implement any of the above methods. The communication device 7100 can be used to implement the methods described in the above method embodiments, and details can be referred to the descriptions in the above method embodiments.

[0482] As shown in FIG. 7A, the communication device 7100 includes one or more processors 7101. The processor 7101 can be a general-purpose processor or a special-purpose processor, for example, a baseband processor or a central processing unit. The baseband processor can be configured to process communication protocols and communication data, and the central processing unit can be configured to control the communication device (such as a base station, a baseband chip, a terminal device, a terminal device chip, a DU or a CU, etc.), execute programs, and process data of the programs. The processor 7101 is configured to invoke instructions to enable the communication device 7100 to perform any of the above methods.

[0483] In some embodiments, the communication device 7100 further includes one or more memories 7102 configured to store instructions. Optionally, all or part of the memory 7102 can also be outside the communication device 7100.

[0484] In some embodiments, the communication device 7100 further includes one or more transceivers 7103. When the communication device 7100 includes one or more transceivers 7103, the communication steps in the above methods, such as sending and receiving, are performed by the transceiver 7103, and other steps are performed by the processor 7101.

[0485] In some embodiments, the transceiver can include a receiver and a transmitter, which can be separate or integrated together. Optionally, the terms transceiver, transceiving unit, transceiver, transceiving circuit, etc. can be replaced by each other, the terms transmitter, transmitting unit, transmitter, transmitting circuit, etc. can be replaced by each other, and the terms receiver, receiving unit, receiver, receiving circuit, etc. can be replaced by each other.

[0486] Optionally, the communication device 7100 further includes one or more interface circuits 7104 connected with the memory 7102, which can be used to receive signals from the memory 7102 or other devices, and can be used to send signals to the memory 7102 or other devices. For example, the interface circuit 7104 can read the instructions stored in the memory 7102 and send them to the processor 7101.

[0487] The communication device 7100 described in the above embodiments can be a network device or a terminal, but the scope of the communication device 7100 described in the present disclosure is not limited to this, and the structure of the communication device 7100 can not be limited by Figure 7a. The communication device can be a standalone device or can be part of a larger device. For example, the communication device can be: 1) a standalone integrated circuit (IC), or a chip, or a chip system or subsystem; (2) a set of one or more ICs, which can optionally also include storage components for storing data, programs; (3) an ASIC, such as a Modem; (4) a module that can be embedded in other devices; (5) a receiver, terminal device, smart terminal device, cellular phone, wireless device, handset, mobile unit, vehicle-mounted device, network device, cloud device, artificial intelligence device, etc.; (6) others, etc.

[0488] Figure 7B is a structural schematic diagram of a chip 7200 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. For the case where the communication device 7100 is a chip or a chip system, the structural schematic diagram of the chip 7200 shown in Figure 7B can be referred to, but is not limited thereto.

[0489] The chip 7200 includes one or more processors 7201, which are used to invoke instructions to cause the chip 7200 to perform any of the above methods.

[0490] In some embodiments, chip 7200 further includes one or more interface circuits 7202 connected to memory 7203, which can be used to receive signals from or send signals to memory 7203 or other devices. For example, interface circuit 7202 can read instructions stored in memory 7203 and send the instructions to processor 7201. Alternatively, the terms interface circuit, interface, transceiver pin, transceiver, etc. can be replaced by each other.

[0491] In some embodiments, chip 7200 further includes one or more memories 7203 for storing instructions. Alternatively, all or part of memory 7203 can be outside chip 7200.

[0492] The disclosure also proposes a storage medium, which has instructions stored thereon, and when the instructions are run on communication device 7100, communication device 7100 performs any of the above methods. Alternatively, the storage medium is an electronic storage medium. Alternatively, the storage medium is a computer readable storage medium, but is not limited to this, and it can also be a storage medium readable by other devices. Alternatively, the storage medium can be a non-transitory storage medium, but is not limited to this, and it can also be a transitory storage medium.

[0493] The disclosure also proposes a program product, which is executed by communication device 7100, so that communication device 7100 performs any of the above methods. Alternatively, the program product is a computer program product.

[0494] The disclosure also proposes a computer program, which, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform any of the above methods.

[0495] In the embodiments described above, all or part of the system, device, and unit can be implemented by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented by software, all or part of the system, device, and unit can be implemented in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer programs. When the computer programs are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present disclosure are generated. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable devices. The computer programs can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transferred from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium, for example, the computer programs can be transferred from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center through a wired (for example, coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (for example, infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) manner. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium accessible by a computer or a data storage device such as a server, data center, etc. integrated with one or more available media. The available media can be a magnetic medium (for example, a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (for example, a high-density digital video disc (DVD)), or a semiconductor medium (for example, a solid state disk (SSD)), etc.

[0496] Those skilled in the art can appreciate that the units and algorithm steps of the examples described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether the functions are implemented in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. A skilled person can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of the present disclosure.

[0497] Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the system, device, and unit described above can refer to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, which will not be described here.

[0498] The above is only a specific implementation of the present disclosure, but the protection scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art can easily think of changes or replacements within the technical range disclosed in the present disclosure, which should be covered within the protection scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the protection scope of the present disclosure should be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A communication method characterized by comprising: The method is performed by a first network element, and the method comprises: When a user plane connection is established with a terminal, first information of the terminal is acquired, a first request is sent to a second network element, and the first request comprises the first information of the terminal; A first response sent by the second network element is received, and the first response comprises second information of the terminal; the first information and the second information are different information corresponding to the same terminal; The first information and the second information are associated.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, The first information is a terminal identifier, and the second information is a terminal address; or the first information is a terminal address, and the second information is a terminal identifier.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein, In the process of establishing the user plane connection with the terminal, the first network element acquires the terminal identifier and the terminal address, wherein the first network element acquires the terminal identifier in a manner different from that in which the first network element acquires the terminal address.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, The first information is a terminal identifier. The acquiring of the first information of the terminal comprises at least one of the following: A first message sent by a third network element is received, and the first message comprises at least one of a first confirmation, a first identifier, and a terminal identifier; the first confirmation is a user plane connection establishment confirmation, and the first identifier is used for identifying the first network element and / or a user plane positioning connection management (UPP-CM) session; A second message sent by a third network element is received, and the second message comprises at least one of a user plane connection establishment completion message, a first identifier, and a terminal identifier.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, The first information is a terminal address. The acquiring of the first information of the terminal comprises: In the process of establishing the user plane connection with the terminal, the terminal address of the terminal is acquired.

6. The method of any one of claims 2-5, wherein, The terminal identifier comprises at least one of the following: A subscription user permanent identifier (SUPI); A general public subscription identifier (GPSI).

7. The method of any one of claims 2-6, wherein, The terminal address is an Internet protocol (IP) address of the terminal.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein, The IP address of the terminal comprises at least one of the following: An IPv4 address; An IPv6 prefix.

9. The method of any one of claims 1-8, wherein, The first request further comprises a first indication, and the first indication is used for indicating that the first network element requests the second information of the terminal from the second network element.

10. The method of any one of claims 1-9, wherein, The first request is an Nbsf_Management_Discovery request. The first response is an Nbsf_Management_Discovery response.

11. The method of any one of claims 1-10, wherein, The method further comprises: A user plane connection establishment command is sent.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein, Before the sending of the user plane connection establishment command, the method further comprises: A user plane connection establishment request is received.

13. The method of any one of claims 2-12, wherein, The method further comprises: Based on the terminal identifier and / or the terminal address, communication is performed with the terminal through the user plane connection.

14. A communication method, comprising: The method is performed by a second network element, and the method comprises: A first request sent by a first network element is received, and the first request comprises first information of a terminal; Second information of the terminal is determined based on the first information of the terminal; the first information and the second information are different information corresponding to the same terminal; A first response is sent to the first network element, and the first response comprises the second information of the terminal.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein, The first information is a terminal identifier, and the second information is a terminal address; or the first information is a terminal address, and the second information is a terminal identifier.

16. The method of claim 14 or 15, wherein, The determining the second information of the terminal based on the first information of the terminal comprises: The determining the second information of the terminal based on the first information of the terminal comprises:

17. The method of claim 15 or 16, wherein, The terminal identifier comprises at least one of: a subscription user permanent identifier (SUPI); a generic public subscription identifier (GPSI).

18. The method of claim 15 or 16, wherein, The terminal address is an Internet Protocol (IP) address of the terminal.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein, The IP address of the terminal comprises at least one of: an IPv4 address; an IPv6 prefix.

20. The method of any one of claims 14-19, wherein, The first request further comprises a first indication, and the first indication is used to indicate that the first network element requests the second information of the terminal from the second network element.

21. The method of any one of claims 14-20, wherein, The first request is an Nbsf_Management_Discovery request. The first response is an Nbsf_Management_Discovery response. 22.A communication method for a communication system, the communication system comprising a first network element and a second network element, the method comprising: when the first network element establishes a user plane connection with a terminal, obtaining first information of the terminal, and sending a first request to the second network element, the first request comprising the first information of the terminal; the second network element receiving the first request sent by the first network element; the second network element determining second information of the terminal based on the first information of the terminal; the first information and the second information are different information corresponding to the same terminal; the second network element sending a first response to the first network element, the first response comprising the second information of the terminal; the first network element receiving the first response sent by the second network element; the first network element associating the first information with the second information.

23. A first network element, characterized by, comprising: a transceiver, configured to, when a user plane connection is established with a terminal, obtain first information of the terminal, and send a first request to a second network element, the first request comprising the first information of the terminal; the transceiver is further configured to receive a first response sent by the second network element, the first response comprising second information of the terminal; the first information and the second information are different information corresponding to the same terminal; a processing module, configured to associate the first information with the second information.

24. A second network element, characterized by, comprising: a transceiver, configured to receive a first request sent by a first network element, the first request comprising first information of a terminal; a processing module, configured to determine second information of the terminal based on the first information of the terminal; the first information and the second information are different information corresponding to the same terminal; the transceiver is further configured to send a first response to the first network element, the first response comprising the second information of the terminal.

25. A communications device, characterized by comprising: one or more processors; a memory coupled to the processors and storing instructions which, when executed by the processors, cause the communication device to perform the method of any of claims 1 to 13.

26. A communications device, characterized by comprising: one or more processors; a memory coupled to the processor, the memory having stored thereon instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the communication device to perform the method of any of claims 14-21.

27. A communication system, characterized by comprising a first network element configured to implement the method of any of claims 1-13 and a second network element configured to implement the method of any of claims 14-21.

28. A storage medium, the storage medium storing instructions, wherein, when the instructions are run on a communication device, cause the communication device to perform the method of any of claims 1-13.

29. A storage medium, the storage medium storing instructions, wherein, when the instructions are run on a communication device, cause the communication device to perform the method of any of claims 14-21.

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