Communication method, apparatus, and system

Abstract

The present application provides a communication method, an apparatus, and a system, and is applied to the technical field of communications. The communication method provided by the preset application can support QoS guarantee and / or charging for tunneling data transmission. The communication method comprises: a first network element receives a first policy from a second network element; and the first network element generates a first rule and a second rule according to the first policy, sends the first rule to a first user plane network element, and sends the second rule to a second user plane network element, wherein the first rule is used for the first user plane network element in a first network to perform QoS guarantee and / or charging on data transmitted via a first tunnel (the first tunnel being a data transmission tunnel between the first network and a second network), and the second rule is used for the second user plane network element in the second network to perform QoS guarantee and / or charging on the data transmitted via the first tunnel.

Description

Communication method, apparatus and system

[0001] The present application claims priority from the Chinese patent application No. 202410651225.7 filed on May 23, 2024, and entitled "Communication method, apparatus and system", the content of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present application relates to the field of communication technology, in particular to a communication method, apparatus and system. BACKGROUND

[0003] In order to realize data intercommunication between a local data network (L-DN) and a central data network (C-DN), a tunnel between the local data network and the central data network can be constructed. In order to correctly transmit data through the tunnel, a session management function (SMF) network element sends a packet detection rule (PDR) and a forwarding action rule (FAR) to a session anchor network element in the local data network and a session anchor network element in the central data network, respectively, in the process of establishing the tunnel. The two rules are mainly used for matching data packets and performing corresponding forwarding actions on the matched data packets. However, the current technology can only support management of services, such as quality of service (QoS) guarantee and / or charging, and is difficult to support management of data transmission through the tunnel (i.e., tunnel-level data transmission). SUMMARY

[0004] Embodiments of the present application provide a communication method, apparatus and system, which can support QoS guarantee and / or charging for tunnel-level data transmission.

[0005] To achieve the above object, the embodiments of the present application adopt the following technical solutions:

[0006] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided. The method can be performed by a first network element or a module (e.g., a processor, a chip, or a chip system) applied to the first network element. The method performed by the first network element includes: receiving, by the first network element, a first policy from a second network element; generating, by the first network element, a first rule according to the first policy, and sending, by the first network element, the first rule to a first user plane network element, the first rule being used by the first user plane network element to perform QoS assurance and / or charging on data transmitted through a first tunnel; and generating, by the first network element, a second rule according to the first policy, and sending, by the first network element, the second rule to a second user plane network element, the second rule being used by the second user plane network element to perform QoS assurance and / or charging on data transmitted through the first tunnel. The first tunnel is a data transmission tunnel between a first network and a second network, the first user plane network element is located in the first network, and the second user plane network element is located in the second network.

[0007] Based on the communication method provided in the embodiments of the present application, the first network element can generate corresponding rules according to the obtained first policy, and send the corresponding rules to the user plane network elements in the networks at both ends of the tunnel to perform QoS assurance and / or charging on data transmitted through the tunnel. The communication method provided in the embodiments of the present application can support QoS assurance and / or charging for data transmission at the tunnel level, which fills the gap that the current technology cannot support QoS assurance and / or charging for data transmission at the tunnel level.

[0008] With reference to the first aspect, in a possible design, the first rule includes a first usage reporting rule (URR) and / or a first QoS enforcement rule (QER), and the second rule includes a second URR and / or a second QER.

[0009] The present solution provides specific rules that can be included in the first rule or the second rule.

[0010] With reference to the first aspect, in a possible design, the first network element receives the first policy from the second network element includes: sending, by the first network element, a first subscription message to the second network element, the first subscription message being used to subscribe to a QoS policy and / or a charging policy corresponding to first information, the first information including at least one of the following: an application identifier, a data network name (DNN), or slice information. The first network element receives the first policy from the second network element, the first policy being the QoS policy and / or the charging policy corresponding to the first information.

[0011] Based on the present solution, the first network element can actively subscribe to the required QoS policy and / or charging policy from the second network element.

[0012] With reference to the first aspect, in a possible design of the first aspect, the first subscription message includes the first information; and / or the first network element receives the first policy from the second network element includes: receiving the first information from the second network element, and the first policy.

[0013] Based on this scheme, the first network element can send the first information to the second network element to subscribe to the QoS policy and / or charging policy corresponding to the first information. When the second network element sends the first policy to the first network element, the first information can be sent together to inform the first network element that the first policy is the QoS policy and / or charging policy corresponding to the first information.

[0014] With reference to the first aspect, in a possible design of the first aspect, the first subscription message further includes first indication information, the first indication information being used to indicate that the second network element acquires the QoS policy and / or charging policy corresponding to the first information, or the first indication information being used to indicate that the second network element requests the QoS policy and / or charging policy corresponding to the first information from a third network element.

[0015] Based on this scheme, the second network element can be triggered to acquire the related policy through the first indication information. Alternatively, the first indication information can directly indicate the second network element to request the corresponding policy from the third network element.

[0016] With reference to the first aspect, in a possible design of the first aspect, the first subscription message is further used to subscribe to a forwarding policy corresponding to the first information; and the method further includes: the first network element receives the first forwarding policy from the second network element, the first forwarding policy being the forwarding policy corresponding to the first information.

[0017] Based on this scheme, the first network element can also actively subscribe to the forwarding policy from the second network element.

[0018] With reference to the first aspect, in a possible design of the first aspect, the first network element receives the first policy from the second network element includes: receiving the first policy and the first forwarding policy from the second network element, wherein the first forwarding policy is the forwarding policy corresponding to the first information.

[0019] Based on this scheme, the second network element can send the first policy and the first forwarding policy to the first network element together.

[0020] With reference to the first aspect, in a possible design of the first aspect, the method further includes: the first network element generates a third rule and a fourth rule according to the first forwarding policy; and the first network element sends the third rule to a first user plane network element and sends the fourth rule to a second user plane network element, wherein the third rule is used for the first user plane network element to match data transmitted through a first tunnel, and the fourth rule is used for the second user plane network element to match data transmitted through the first tunnel.

[0021] Based on the scheme, the first network element can generate and issue a rule for data matching according to the forwarding policy, so as to realize transmission of data through the tunnel.

[0022] With reference to the first aspect, in a possible design, the first network element sends the first subscription message to the second network element, including: the first network element sends the first subscription message in a case where it is determined according to edge application server (EAS) deployment information that the first tunnel needs to be established; wherein the first network element determines that the first tunnel needs to be established according to the EAS deployment information, including: determining that the first tunnel needs to be established according to the received EAS deployment information; determining that the first tunnel needs to be established according to the EAS deployment information in a process of discovering the EAS; or determining that the first tunnel needs to be established according to the EAS deployment information in a process of establishing a session.

[0023] Based on the scheme, the first network element subscribes to the related policy from the second network element, which can be triggered by the first network element to establish the first tunnel based on the EAS deployment information.

[0024] With reference to the first aspect, in a possible design, the EAS deployment information includes at least one of the following information: a first internet protocol (IP) address, a second IP address, a first data network access identifier (DNAI), a second DNAI, an application identifier, a DNN, slice information, or second indication information; wherein the first IP address is a source address of data transmitted to the second network through the first tunnel or a destination address of data transmitted to the first network through the first tunnel, the second IP address is a destination address of data transmitted to the second network through the first tunnel or a source address of data transmitted to the first network through the first tunnel, the first DNAI is used to identify the first network, the second DNAI is used to identify the second network, and the second indication information is used to indicate establishment of a data transmission tunnel between the first network and the second network.

[0025] The scheme provides a plurality of extended information that the EAS deployment information can include.

[0026] With reference to the first aspect, in a possible design, the method further includes: the first network element sends second information to a fifth network element, and the second information is used for the fifth network element to generate a charging record for an application service provider.

[0027] Currently, only terminal granularity charging records can be generated, while the scheme can generate application service provider granularity charging records, which are more suitable for some application scenarios, for example, when an operator signs a contract with an application service provider, the scheme is adopted, so that the operator can directly charge the application service provider.

[0028] In a second aspect, a communication method is provided. The method can be performed by a second network element, or can be performed by a module (e.g., a processor, a chip, or a chip system) applied to the second network element. The method performed by the second network element includes: obtaining, by the second network element, a first policy, and sending, by the second network element, the first policy to a first network element. The first policy is used to determine a first rule and a second rule. The first rule is used for QoS guarantee and / or charging of data transmitted through a first tunnel by a first user plane network element. The second rule is used for QoS guarantee and / or charging of data transmitted through the first tunnel by a second user plane network element. The first tunnel is a data transmission tunnel between a first network and a second network. The first user plane network element is located in the first network. The second user plane network element is located in the second network.

[0029] Based on the communication method provided in the embodiments of the present application, the second network element can provide the first policy to the first network element, so that the first network element generates corresponding rules, and then QoS guarantee and / or charging of data transmitted through the tunnel are realized. The communication method provided in the embodiments of the present application can support QoS guarantee and / or charging of data transmission at the tunnel level, which fills the gap that the current technology cannot support QoS guarantee and / or charging of data transmission at the tunnel level.

[0030] With reference to the second aspect above, in a possible design, the second network element sends the first policy to the first network element, including: the second network element receives a first subscription message from the first network element. The first subscription message is used to subscribe to a QoS policy and / or a charging policy corresponding to first information. The first information includes at least one of the following information: an application identifier, a DNN, or slice information. The second network element sends the first policy to the first network element. The first policy is the QoS policy and / or the charging policy corresponding to the first information.

[0031] Based on the present solution, the second network element can obtain the QoS policy and / or the charging policy corresponding to the first information based on the subscription of the first network element, and send the first policy to the first network element.

[0032] With reference to the second aspect above, in a possible design, the first subscription message includes the first information; and / or, the first network element sends the first policy to the first network element, including: sending the first information and the first policy to the first network element.

[0033] Based on the present solution, the first network element can send the first information to the second network element to subscribe to the QoS policy and / or the charging policy corresponding to the first information. When the second network element sends the first policy to the first network element, the first information can be sent together to inform the first network element that the first policy is the QoS policy and / or the charging policy corresponding to the first information.

[0034] With reference to the second aspect above, in a possible design, the second network element obtaining the first policy comprises: sending a second subscription message to the third network element, the second subscription message being used to subscribe to a QoS policy and / or a charging policy corresponding to the first information; and the first information comprising at least one of the following: an application identifier, a DNN, or slice information. The second network element receives the first policy from the third network element, and the first policy is the QoS policy and / or the charging policy corresponding to the first information.

[0035] Based on this solution, the second network element can subscribe to the corresponding policy from the third network element.

[0036] With reference to the second aspect above, in a possible design, the method further includes: the second network element receiving first indication information from the first network element, the first indication information being used to indicate that the QoS policy and / or the charging policy is requested from the third network element.

[0037] Based on this solution, the second network element requests the QoS policy and / or the charging policy from the third network element, which can be triggered by the first indication information.

[0038] With reference to the second aspect above, in a possible design, the second subscription message further comprises third indication information, the third indication information being used to indicate that the third network element sends the QoS policy and / or the charging policy.

[0039] Based on this solution, the third network element sends the QoS policy and / or the charging policy to the second network element, which can be triggered by the third indication information.

[0040] With reference to the second aspect above, in a possible design, the second subscription message comprises the first information; and / or, the second network element receiving the first policy from the third network element comprises: receiving the first information and the first policy from the third network element.

[0041] Based on this solution, the second network element can send the first information to the third network element to subscribe to the QoS policy and / or the charging policy corresponding to the first information. When the third network element sends the first policy to the second network element, the first information can be sent together to inform the second network element that the first policy is the QoS policy and / or the charging policy corresponding to the first information.

[0042] With reference to the second aspect above, in a possible design, before the second network element sends the first policy to the first network element, the method further includes: the second network element receiving third information from a fourth network element, the third information comprising a QoS parameter, information of an application service provider, and the first information; and the first information comprising at least one of the following: an application identifier, a DNN, or slice information, the third information being used to generate the first policy.

[0043] Based on this solution, the fourth network element can send information related to QoS and / or charging to the network side.

[0044] With reference to the above second aspect, in a possible design of the method, the method further includes: sending, by the second network element, third information to the sixth network element, where the third information is used by the sixth network element to generate the first policy.

[0045] Based on this scheme, the second network element can provide the third information to another network element, so as to enable the another network element to generate a corresponding policy.

[0046] With reference to the above second aspect, in a possible design of the method, the method further includes: determining, by the second network element, whether the fourth network element is trustworthy according to the third information; and sending, by the second network element, the third information to the sixth network element, including: in a case where the fourth network element is determined to be trustworthy, sending the third information to the sixth network element.

[0047] Based on this scheme, the second network element can determine whether the fourth network element is trustworthy before sending the third information to the sixth network element, so as to guarantee the security of the third information.

[0048] With reference to the above second aspect, in a possible design of the method, the method further includes: receiving, by the second network element, fourth indication information from the fourth network element, where the fourth indication information is used to indicate whether the fourth network element is trustworthy, and forwarding, by the second network element, the third information to the sixth network element in a case where the fourth network element is determined to be trustworthy.

[0049] Based on this scheme, the second network element can determine whether the fourth network element is trustworthy, which can be triggered by the fourth indication information.

[0050] With reference to the above second aspect, in a possible design of the method, the method further includes: sending, by the second network element, fifth indication information to the sixth network element, where the fifth indication information is used to instruct the sixth network element to generate the QoS policy and / or the charging policy, and store the QoS policy and / or the charging policy to the third network element; and obtaining, by the second network element, the first policy, including: obtaining the first policy from the third network element.

[0051] Based on this scheme, the second network element can instruct the sixth network element to store the generated policy to the third network element, so that the second network element can subsequently obtain the corresponding policy from the third network element.

[0052] With reference to the above second aspect, in a possible design of the method, the method further includes: generating, by the second network element, the first policy according to the third information.

[0053] Based on this scheme, the first policy can also be generated by the second network element itself.

[0054] With reference to the above second aspect, in a possible design of the method, the method further includes: storing, by the second network element, the first policy to the third network element; and obtaining, by the second network element, the first policy, including: obtaining the first policy from the third network element.

[0055] Based on the scheme, after generating the first policy, the second network element can store the first policy to the third network element, so that other network elements can conveniently call the related policy from the third network element when the related policy is needed.

[0056] With reference to the second aspect, in a possible design, the method further includes: the second network element sending first information to a seventh network element, and receiving information of a first network element from the seventh network element, the first network element supporting the first information; and the second network element sending the first policy to the first network element, including: sending the first policy to the first network element according to the information of the first network element.

[0057] Based on the scheme, after generating the first policy, the second network element can query the network element supporting the first information from other network elements, and obtain the information of the first network element, so that the first policy can be directly sent to the first network element.

[0058] With reference to the second aspect, in a possible design, the method further includes: the second network element receiving sixth indication information, the sixth indication information being used for indicating to generate a QoS policy and / or a charging policy, and being sent to a session management network element supporting the first information for the QoS policy and / or the charging policy.

[0059] Based on the scheme, the second network element querying the session management network element supporting the first information can be triggered by the sixth indication information.

[0060] With reference to the second aspect, in a possible design, the first subscription message is further used for subscribing to a forwarding policy corresponding to the first information; and the method further includes: the second network element obtaining a first forwarding policy, the first forwarding policy being the forwarding policy corresponding to the first information; and the second network element sending the first policy to the first network element, including: sending the first policy and the first forwarding policy to the first network element.

[0061] Based on the scheme, the second network element can further obtain and send the forwarding policy to the first network element, so that the first network element can generate corresponding rules based on the forwarding policy.

[0062] With reference to the above second aspect, in a possible design of the third information, the third information further includes at least one of the first IP address, the second IP address, the first DNAI, or the second DNAI; the first IP address is a source address of data transmitted to the second network through the first tunnel or a destination address of data transmitted to the first network through the first tunnel, the second IP address is a destination address of data transmitted to the second network through the first tunnel or a source address of data transmitted to the first network through the first tunnel, the first DNAI is used to identify the first network, and the second DNAI is used to identify the second network. The method further includes: generating, by the second network element, the first forwarding policy according to the third information. The method further includes: sending, by the second network element to the first network element, the first policy according to the information of the first network element, including: sending, by the second network element to the first network element, the first policy and the first forwarding policy according to the information of the first network element.

[0063] Based on this scheme, the second network element can generate a corresponding forwarding policy according to the third information, and send the first forwarding policy and the first policy to the first network element.

[0064] With reference to the above second aspect, in a possible design of the first forwarding policy, the first forwarding policy is used to generate a third rule and a fourth rule; the third rule is used for the first user plane network element to match data transmitted through the first tunnel; and the fourth rule is used for the second user plane network element to match data transmitted through the first tunnel.

[0065] Based on this scheme, the first network element can generate a rule used for data matching according to the forwarding policy, to implement transmission of data through the tunnel.

[0066] With reference to the above second aspect, in a possible design of the method, before the second network element sends the first policy to the first network element, the method further includes: sending, by the second network element to an eighth network element, the first information, and receiving, by the second network element from the eighth network element, QoS parameters corresponding to the first information and information of an application service provider. The method further includes: obtaining, by the second network element, the first policy, including: generating, by the second network element, the first policy according to the QoS parameters corresponding to the first information and the information of the application service provider.

[0067] Based on this scheme, the second network element can generate the first policy according to information provided by other network elements.

[0068] In a third aspect, a communication method is provided, which can be performed by an intermediate network element or a module (e.g., a processor, a chip, or a chip system) applied to the intermediate network element. The method includes receiving, from a fourth network element, EAS deployment information, the EAS deployment information including a QoS parameter, information of an application service provider, and first information. The first information includes at least one of an application identifier, a DNN, or slice information. The intermediate network element sends the QoS parameter, the information of the application service provider, and the first information to an eighth network element, and sends the first information to a first network element. The QoS parameter and the information of the application service provider are used to generate a first policy, and the first policy is used to generate a third rule and a fourth rule. The third rule and the fourth rule are used for QoS assurance and / or charging of data transmitted through a first tunnel. The first tunnel is a data transmission tunnel between the first network and the second network.

[0069] Based on the method provided in the embodiments of the present application, information used to generate a corresponding policy can also be carried in the EAS deployment information. After receiving the EAS deployment information, the intermediate network element can split the EAS deployment information and send the split information to the corresponding network element, so that the corresponding network element can generate a related policy according to the corresponding information. The related policy can be used to generate a tunnel-level rule related to QoS assurance and / or charging, so that QoS assurance and / or charging of data transmitted through a tunnel between two networks can be implemented. The communication method provided in the embodiments of the present application can support QoS assurance and / or charging of data transmission at the tunnel level, which fills the gap that the current technology cannot support QoS assurance and / or charging of data transmission at the tunnel level.

[0070] In combination with the third aspect described above, in a possible design, the EAS deployment information further includes at least one of the following information: a first network interconnection protocol (IP) address, a second IP address, a first data network access identifier (DNAI), or a second DNAI. The first IP address is a source address of data transmitted to the second network through the first tunnel or a destination address of data transmitted to the first network through the first tunnel. The second IP address is a destination address of data transmitted to the second network through the first tunnel or a source address of data transmitted to the first network through the first tunnel. The first DNAI is used to identify the first network, and the second DNAI is used to identify the second network. The method further includes that the intermediate network element sends at least one of the first IP address, the second IP address, the first DNAI, or the second DNAI to the first network element.

[0071] Based on the present solution, the first network element can generate a rule related to matching and / or forwarding of data based on the related information provided by the intermediate network element.

[0072] With reference to the third aspect above, in a possible design, the method further includes: sending, by the intermediate network element, eighth indication information to the first network element, where the eighth indication information is used to instruct the first network element to request the QoS policy and / or the charging policy from the second network element.

[0073] Based on the solution, the intermediate network element can instruct the first network element to request the related policy from the second network element.

[0074] The fourth aspect provides a communication apparatus for implementing the method implemented by the first network element in the first aspect above.

[0075] The communication apparatus includes modules, units, or means corresponding to the above-described method, which can be implemented by hardware, software, or by executing corresponding software by hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more modules or units corresponding to the above-described functions.

[0076] With reference to the fourth aspect above, in a possible design, the communication apparatus includes a processing module and a transceiver module; the transceiver module is configured to receive the first policy from the second network element; the processing module is configured to generate the first rule and the second rule according to the first policy; and the transceiver module is configured to send the first rule to the first user plane network element and send the second rule to the second user plane network element, where the first rule is used for the first user plane network element to perform QoS guarantee and / or charging on data transmitted through the first tunnel, and the second rule is used for the second user plane network element to perform QoS guarantee and / or charging on data transmitted through the first tunnel, and the first tunnel is a data transmission tunnel between the first network and the second network, the first user plane network element is located in the first network, and the second user plane network element is located in the second network.

[0077] With reference to the fourth aspect above, in a possible design, the first rule includes a first URR and / or a first QER, and the second rule includes a second URR and / or a second QER.

[0078] With reference to the fourth aspect above, in a possible design, the transceiver module receiving the first policy from the second network element includes: sending a first subscription message to the second network element, and receiving the first policy from the second network element, where the first subscription message is used to subscribe to the QoS policy and / or the charging policy corresponding to the first information, the first information includes at least one of the following: an application identifier, a DNN, or slice information, and the first policy is the QoS policy and / or the charging policy corresponding to the first information.

[0079] With reference to the fourth aspect above, in a possible design, the first subscription message includes the first information; and / or, the transceiver module receiving the first policy from the second network element includes: receiving the first information and the first policy from the second network element.

[0080] In a possible design of the fourth aspect, the first subscription message further includes first indication information, where the first indication information is used to instruct the second network element to obtain the QoS policy and / or the charging policy corresponding to the first information, or the first indication information is used to instruct the second network element to request the QoS policy and / or the charging policy corresponding to the first information from the third network element.

[0081] In a possible design of the fourth aspect, the first subscription message is further used to subscribe to a forwarding policy corresponding to the first information; and the transceiver is further configured to receive the first forwarding policy from the second network element, where the first forwarding policy is the forwarding policy corresponding to the first information.

[0082] In a possible design of the fourth aspect, the transceiver receives the first policy and the first forwarding policy from the second network element, where the first forwarding policy is the forwarding policy corresponding to the first information.

[0083] In a possible design of the fourth aspect, the processing module is further configured to generate a third rule and a fourth rule according to the first forwarding policy; and the transceiver is further configured to send the third rule to the first user plane network element and send the fourth rule to the second user plane network element, where the third rule is used for the first user plane network element to match data transmitted through the first tunnel, and the fourth rule is used for the second user plane network element to match data transmitted through the first tunnel.

[0084] In a possible design of the fourth aspect, the transceiver sends the first subscription message to the second network element, including: the processing module sends the first subscription message through the transceiver in a case where it is determined according to the EAS deployment information that the first tunnel needs to be established; and the processing module establishes the first tunnel according to the EAS deployment information, including: determining that the first tunnel needs to be established according to the received EAS deployment information; determining that the first tunnel needs to be established according to the EAS deployment information in a process of discovering the EAS; or determining that the first tunnel needs to be established according to the EAS deployment information in a process of establishing a session.

[0085] In a possible design of the fourth aspect above, the EAS deployment information includes at least one of the following: the first IP address, the second IP address, the first DNAI, the second DNAI, the application identifier, the DNN, the slice information, or the second indication information; the first IP address is a source address of data transmitted to the second network through the first tunnel or a destination address of data transmitted to the first network through the first tunnel, the second IP address is a destination address of data transmitted to the second network through the first tunnel or a source address of data transmitted to the first network through the first tunnel, the first DNAI is used to identify the first network, the second DNAI is used to identify the second network, and the second indication information is used to indicate establishment of the data transmission tunnel between the first network and the second network.

[0086] In a possible design of the fourth aspect above, the transceiver module is further configured to send, to the fifth network element, second information, where the second information is used by the fifth network element to generate a charging record for the application service provider.

[0087] In a fifth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided for implementing the method implemented by the second network element in the second aspect above.

[0088] The communication apparatus includes modules, units, or means corresponding to the modules in the method, which can be implemented by hardware, software, or by a combination of hardware and software.

[0089] In a possible design of the fifth aspect above, the communication apparatus includes a processing module and a transceiver module; the processing module is configured to obtain a first policy, and the transceiver module is configured to send the first policy to a first network element; the first policy is used to determine a first rule and a second rule, the first rule is used by a first user plane network element to perform QoS guarantee and / or charging on data transmitted through a first tunnel, and the second rule is used by a second user plane network element to perform QoS guarantee and / or charging on data transmitted through the first tunnel; the first tunnel is a data transmission tunnel between a first network and a second network; the first user plane network element is located in the first network, and the second user plane network element is located in the second network.

[0090] In a possible design of the fifth aspect above, the transceiver module sends the first policy to the first network element by receiving a first subscription message from the first network element and sending the first policy to the first network element; the first subscription message is used to subscribe to a QoS policy and / or a charging policy corresponding to first information; the first information includes at least one of the following: an application identifier, a data network name (DNN), or slice information, and the first policy is the QoS policy and / or the charging policy corresponding to the first information.

[0091] With reference to the fifth aspect above, in a possible design, the first subscription message includes the first information; and / or, the transceiver is configured to send the first policy to the first network element, including: sending the first information and the first policy to the first network element.

[0092] With reference to the fifth aspect above, in a possible design, the processing module is configured to obtain the first policy, including: sending, by the transceiver, a second subscription message to the third network element, and receiving the first policy from the third network element. The second subscription message is used to subscribe to a QoS policy and / or a charging policy corresponding to the first information, and the first information includes at least one of the following: an application identifier, a DNN, or slice information; and the first policy is the QoS policy and / or the charging policy corresponding to the first information.

[0093] With reference to the fifth aspect above, in a possible design, the transceiver is configured to receive first indication information from the first network element, where the first indication information is used to indicate that the QoS policy and / or the charging policy is requested from the third network element.

[0094] With reference to the fifth aspect above, in a possible design, the second subscription message further includes third indication information, where the third indication information is used to indicate that the third network element sends the QoS policy and / or the charging policy.

[0095] With reference to the fifth aspect above, in a possible design, the second subscription message includes the first information; and / or, the transceiver is configured to receive the first policy from the third network element, including: receiving the first information and the first policy from the third network element.

[0096] With reference to the fifth aspect above, in a possible design, the transceiver is further configured to receive third information from the fourth network element, where the third information includes a QoS parameter, information of an application service provider, and the first information. The first information includes at least one of the following: an application identifier, a DNN, or slice information, and the third information is used to generate the first policy.

[0097] With reference to the fifth aspect above, in a possible design, the transceiver is further configured to send the third information to a sixth network element, where the third information is used by the sixth network element to generate the first policy.

[0098] With reference to the fifth aspect above, in a possible design, the processing module is further configured to determine whether the fourth network element is trusted according to the third information. The transceiver is configured to send the third information to the sixth network element, including: in a case where the fourth network element is determined to be trusted, the processing module sends the third information to the sixth network element by the transceiver.

[0099] With reference to the fifth aspect above, in a possible design, the transceiver module is further configured to receive fourth indication information from the fourth network element, where the fourth indication information is used to indicate whether the fourth network element is trusted, and forward the third information to a sixth network element in the case that the fourth network element is trusted.

[0100] With reference to the fifth aspect above, in a possible design, the transceiver module is further configured to send fifth indication information to the sixth network element, where the fifth indication information is used to instruct the sixth network element to generate a QoS policy and / or a charging policy, and store the QoS policy and / or the charging policy to the third network element. The processing module obtains the first policy by obtaining the first policy from the third network element.

[0101] With reference to the fifth aspect above, in a possible design, the processing module is further configured to generate the first policy according to the third information.

[0102] With reference to the fifth aspect above, in a possible design, the processing module is further configured to store the first policy to the third network element. The processing module obtains the first policy by obtaining the first policy from the third network element.

[0103] With reference to the fifth aspect above, in a possible design, the transceiver module is further configured to send the first information to a seventh network element, and receive information of the first network element from the seventh network element, where the first network element supports the first information. The transceiver module sends the first policy to the first network element by sending the first policy to the first network element according to the information of the first network element.

[0104] With reference to the fifth aspect above, in a possible design, the transceiver module is further configured to receive sixth indication information, where the sixth indication information is used to instruct to generate a QoS policy and / or a charging policy, and send to a session management network element that supports the first information for the QoS policy and / or the charging policy.

[0105] With reference to the fifth aspect above, in a possible design, the first subscription message is further used to subscribe to a forwarding policy corresponding to the first information; and the processing module is further configured to obtain the first forwarding policy, where the first forwarding policy is the forwarding policy corresponding to the first information. The transceiver module sends the first policy to the first network element by sending the first policy and the first forwarding policy to the first network element.

[0106] In a possible design of the fifth aspect, the third information further includes at least one of the following: a first network interconnection protocol (IP) address, a second IP address, a first data network access identifier (DNAI), or a second DNAI; the first IP address is a destination address or a source address of the data transmitted through the first tunnel, the second IP address is a destination address or a source address of the data transmitted through the first tunnel, the first DNAI is used to identify the first network, and the second DNAI is used to identify the second network. The processing module is further configured to generate the first forwarding policy according to the third information. The transceiver is configured to send the first policy and the first forwarding policy to the first network element according to the information of the first network element.

[0107] In a possible design of the fifth aspect, the first forwarding policy is used to generate a third rule and a fourth rule; the third rule is used for the first user plane network element to match the data transmitted through the first tunnel; and the fourth rule is used for the second user plane network element to match the data transmitted through the first tunnel.

[0108] In a possible design of the fifth aspect, the transceiver is further configured to send the first information to the eighth network element and receive, from the eighth network element, the QoS parameter corresponding to the first information and the information of the application service provider. The processing module obtains the first policy by generating the first policy according to the QoS parameter corresponding to the first information and the information of the application service provider.

[0109] A sixth aspect provides a communication apparatus for implementing the method implemented by the intermediate network element in the third aspect.

[0110] The communication apparatus includes modules, units, or means corresponding to the above method, which can be implemented by hardware, software, or by executing corresponding software by hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more modules or units corresponding to the above functions.

[0111] With reference to the sixth aspect above, in a possible design, the communication apparatus includes a processing module and a transceiver. The transceiver is configured to receive, from the fourth network element, edge application service (EAS) deployment information, where the EAS deployment information includes quality of service (QoS) parameters, information of an application service provider, and first information. The first information includes at least one of an application identifier, a data network name (DNN), or slice information. The transceiver is further configured to send, to the eighth network element, the QoS parameters, the information of the application service provider, and the first information, and to send, to the first network element, the first information. The QoS parameters and the information of the application service provider are used to generate a first policy, and the first policy is used to generate a first rule and a second rule. The first rule and the second rule are used to perform QoS guarantee and / or charging on data transmitted through a first tunnel. The first tunnel is a data transmission tunnel between the first network and the second network.

[0112] With reference to the sixth aspect above, in a possible design, the EAS deployment information further includes at least one of a first network interconnection protocol (IP) address, a second IP address, a first data network access identifier (DNAI), or a second DNAI. The first IP address is a source address of data transmitted to the second network through the first tunnel or a destination address of data transmitted to the first network through the first tunnel. The second IP address is a destination address of data transmitted to the second network through the first tunnel or a source address of data transmitted to the first network through the first tunnel. The first DNAI is used to identify the first network, and the second DNAI is used to identify the second network. The method further includes that the intermediate network element sends, to the first network element, at least one of the first IP address, the second IP address, the first DNAI, or the second DNAI.

[0113] With reference to the sixth aspect above, in a possible design, the transceiver is further configured to send, to the first network element, eighth indication information, where the eighth indication information is used to instruct the first network element to request a QoS policy and / or a charging policy from the second network element.

[0114] According to a seventh aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, which includes a processor configured to execute instructions stored in a memory, and when the processor executes the instructions, the communication apparatus performs the method in any of the aspects above. The communication apparatus can be the first network element in the first aspect or any of the possible designs of the first aspect, or a module (e.g., a chip) applied to the first network element. Alternatively, the communication apparatus can be the second network element in the second aspect or any of the possible designs of the second aspect, or a module (e.g., a chip) applied to the second network element. Alternatively, the communication apparatus can be the intermediate network element in the third aspect or any of the possible designs of the third aspect, or a module (e.g., a chip) applied to the intermediate network element.

[0115] In a possible design, the communication apparatus further includes a memory for storing computer instructions. Optionally, the processor and the memory are integrated together, or the processor and the memory are separately arranged.

[0116] In a possible design, the memory is coupled with the processor and is located outside the communication apparatus.

[0117] In a possible design, the memory is coupled with the processor and is located outside the communication apparatus.

[0118] In a possible design, the communication apparatus further includes a memory for storing computer instructions. Optionally, the processor and the memory are integrated together, or the processor and the memory are separately arranged.

[0119] In a possible design, the memory is coupled with the processor and is located outside the communication apparatus.

[0120] In a possible design, the memory is coupled with the processor and is located outside the communication apparatus.

[0121] In some possible designs, the communication apparatus can be a chip or a chip system.

[0122] In a possible design, the memory is coupled with the processor and is located outside the communication apparatus.

[0123] In a tenth aspect, a computer program product containing instructions which, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method performed by the first network element in the first aspect or any possible design of the first aspect, or cause the computer to perform the method performed by the second network element in the second aspect or any possible design of the second aspect, or cause the computer to perform the method performed by the intermediate network element in the third aspect or any possible design of the third aspect.

[0124] In an eleventh aspect, a communication apparatus (for example, the communication apparatus can be a chip or a chip system) is provided. The communication apparatus includes a processor configured to implement the functions described in any of the aspects. In a possible design, the communication apparatus further includes a memory configured to store necessary program instructions and data. When the communication apparatus is a chip system, the communication apparatus can be composed of a chip or can include a chip and other discrete components.

[0125] In a twelfth aspect, a communication system is provided. The communication system includes a first network element and a second network element. The first network element is configured to implement the method in the first aspect or any possible design of the first aspect, and the second network element is configured to implement the method in the second aspect or any possible design of the second aspect.

[0126] In a possible design, the communication system further includes an intermediate network element, and the second network element is configured to implement the method in the third aspect or any possible design of the third aspect.

[0127] The technical effects brought by any design of the fourth aspect to the twelfth aspect can be referred to the technical effects brought by different designs of the first aspect to the third aspect, which will not be repeated here. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0128] FIG. 1 is a flow diagram illustrating a process of establishing a data forwarding tunnel between an L-DN and a C-DN;

[0129] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating an architecture of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0130] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a network architecture according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0131] FIG. 4 is an interaction diagram illustrating a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0132] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating a method of generating a first policy according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0133] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating a method of generating a first forwarding policy according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0134] FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of flow one of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0135] FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of flow two of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0136] FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of flow three of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0137] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of flow four of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0138] FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of flow five of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0139] FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of a structure of a communication apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0140] FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of a structure of another communication apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0141] To facilitate understanding of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, first, a brief introduction of the related technologies of the present application is given as follows.

[0142] 1. Edge application server (EAS):

[0143] EAS: EAS refers to an application deployed in an edge data network (or edge network) (edge data network, EDN), specifically, a server application (for example, social media software, augmented reality (AR), VR, etc.) deployed and running in an instance of the EDN. The EAS can also be referred to as an edge application server, an application instance, an edge application instance, an EAS function, etc.

[0144] EDN: EDN is a kind of local network, which can be identified by a data network access identifier (DNAI) and / or a data network name (DNN).

[0145] 2. EAS deployment information (EDI):

[0146] EAS deployment information (EDI) is the information about EAS deployment sent by the application function (AF) network element to the SMF network element through the network exposure function (NEF) network element, which is used to complete the entire EAS discovery process. The EAS deployment information may contain one or more of the following information:

[0147] Fully qualified domain name (FQDN) supported by the deployed application in the EDN served by the SMF network element.

[0148] The DNAI corresponding to the EDI served by the SMF network element.

[0149] Domain name system (DNS) server information, such as a list of DNS server identifiers (DNS server identifier) of the DNAI, wherein the DNS server identifier consists of an IP address and a port number.

[0150] The IP address or IP address range of the EAS in the EDN identified by the DNAI.

[0151] N6 traffic routing information: information about how to forward edge network traffic (edge traffic) of the DNAI (optional), wherein the N6 interface is the interface between the core network user plane function (UPF) network element and the data network (DN).

[0152] The EDI can also include other information, which can be referred to the existing protocol, such as the 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) standard TS23.548.

[0153] 3. Forwarding tunnel between the central network and the local network:

[0154] Currently, a scheme for constructing a forwarding tunnel between a central network and a local network is discussed to meet the data intercommunication requirement between the central network and the local network. In the scheme, the forwarding tunnel is independent of a PDU session, and is intended to realize data transmission between a server in the central network and a server in the local network. Hereinafter, the local network is denoted by the abbreviation L-DN, and the central network is denoted by the abbreviation C-DN. The scheme is introduced as follows.

[0155] The scheme can support that a terminal device first sends a data packet to an EAS in the L-DN for processing, and after the EAS finishes processing, the EAS in the L-DN further sends the data packet to an application server (AS) in the C-DN for processing through a tunnel on the side of a core network (in the scheme, the tunnel can provide data packet forwarding capability). The scheme can also support the reverse process: the AS in the C-DN sends a data packet to the EAS in the L-DN through the tunnel on the side of the core network, and after the EAS finishes processing, the EAS can send the data packet to the terminal device. In this case, the source address of the data packet sent by the EAS to the AS is the internet protocol (IP) address of the EAS (hereinafter abbreviated as EAS IP), and the destination address is the IP address of the AS (hereinafter abbreviated as AS IP). The source address of the data packet sent by the AS to the EAS is the AS IP, and the destination address is the EAS IP.

[0156] Taking application in a 5th generation (5G) communication system as an example, the flow of the scheme is shown in FIG. 1, including the following steps.

[0157] S101, the AF network element sends an EDI to a NEF network element, a policy control function (PCF) network element, and a SMF network element.

[0158] In the scheme, in addition to one or more pieces of information that the EDI issued by the AF network element can contain, as introduced above, the EDI can further include the following newly added information: information indicating whether the DNAI corresponds to the L-DN or the C-DN; information indicating whether the L-DN needs to be connected with the C-DN. Alternatively, the EDI can further include the following newly added information: DNAIs corresponding to the L-DN and the C-DN respectively for which a tunnel is to be established.

[0159] S102, the SMF network element is triggered to retrieve the EDI provided by the AF network element, and the SMF network element decides to establish a forwarding tunnel between the L-DN and the C-DN based on the retrieved information.

[0160] The trigger condition for the SMF network element to detect the EDI and determine whether to establish the forwarding tunnel between the L-DN and the C-DN can be a NEF network element notification or a core network (CN) related event, such as a protocol data unit (PDU) session establishment / modification, EAS discovery (or EAS re-discovery), and the like.

[0161] In S103, the SMF network element selects, according to the DNAI corresponding to the L-DN and the C-DN to be connected, a UPF (hereinafter referred to as an L-PSA UPF) network element as a PDU session anchor (PSA) in a local network and a UPF (hereinafter referred to as a C-PSA UPF) network element as a PDU session anchor in a central network.

[0162] The PSA refers to a UPF network element directly connected to a DN through an N6 interface in a session.

[0163] In S104, the SMF network element sends an N4 session establishment message (the N4 interface is an interface between a UPF network element and an SMF network element) to the C-PSA UPF network element, and the N4 session establishment message includes the PDR-1 and the FAR-1. After receiving the N4 session establishment message, the C-PSA UPF network element selects a tunnel end point identifier (TEID) for one end of the tunnel, i.e., for itself.

[0164] In S105, the C-PSA UPF network element sends an N4 session establishment response message to the SMF network element, and the N4 session establishment response message includes the TEID selected by the C-PSA UPF network element in S104.

[0165] In S106, the SMF network element sends an N4 session establishment message to the L-PSA UPF network element, and the N4 session establishment message includes the PDR-2, the FAR-2, and the TEID provided by the C-PSA UPF network element in S105. After receiving the N4 session establishment message, the L-PSA UPF selects a TEID for the other end of the tunnel, i.e., for itself.

[0166] After receiving the TEID provided by the C-PSA UPF network element, the L-PSA UPF network element can send the TEID to the C-PSA UPF together with data from the L-DN. After receiving the data from the L-PSA UPF network element, the C-PSA UPF network element can forward the data to the C-DN based on the TEID. When forwarding the data to the C-DN, the C-PSA UPF can forward the data to an AS in the C-DN based on the destination IP address of the data.

[0167] S107, the L-PSA UPF network element sends an N4 session establishment response message to the SMF network element, the N4 session establishment response message including the TEID selected by the L-PSA UPF network element in S106.

[0168] S108, the SMF network element sends an N4 session update request message to the L-PSA UPF network element, the N4 session update request message including PDR-3 and FAR-3.

[0169] S109, the L-PSA UPF network element sends an N4 session update response message to the SMF network element.

[0170] S110, the SMF network element sends an N4 session update request message to the C-PSA UPF network element, the N4 session update request message including PDR-4, FAR-4, and the TEID provided by the L-PSA UPF network element in S107.

[0171] After the C-PSA UPF receives the TEID provided by the L-PSA UPF network element, if it wants to send data from the C-DN to the L-DN, it can send the TEID to the L-PSA UPF together with the data. After the L-PSA UPF receives the data from the C-PSA UPF, it can forward the data to the L-DN based on the TEID. Wherein, the L-PSA UPF can forward the data to the EAS in the L-DN based on the destination IP address of the data when forwarding the data to the L-DN.

[0172] S111, the C-PSA UPF network element sends an N4 session update response message to the SMF network element.

[0173] After the SMF network element issues PDR and FAR to the corresponding PSA UPF network element, the corresponding PSA UPF network element can match and forward data according to the received rules, realizing data interconnection of the two ends of the tunnel.

[0174] The C-PSA UPF network element can implement forwarding of data of the L-DN to the C-DN according to the PDR-1 and the FAR-1, can match the data forwarded to the C-DN according to the PDR-1, and can determine forwarding of the matched data to a destination IP address of the data according to the FAR-1. The L-PSA UPF network element can implement forwarding of data of the L-DN to the C-PSA UPF network element according to the PDR-2 and the FAR-2, can match the data received through the N6 interface according to the PDR-2, can match the data received through the N6 interface according to the PDR-2, and can determine forwarding of the matched data to the C-PSA UPF network element according to the FAR-2.

[0175] The C-PSA UPF network element can implement forwarding of data of the L-DN to the C-DN according to the PDR-1 and the FAR-1, can match the data forwarded to the C-DN according to the PDR-1, and can determine forwarding of the matched data to a destination IP address of the data according to the FAR-1. The L-PSA UPF network element can implement forwarding of data of the L-DN to the C-PSA UPF network element according to the PDR-2 and the FAR-2, can match the data received through the N6 interface according to the PDR-2, can match the data received through the N6 interface according to the PDR-2, and can determine forwarding of the matched data to the C-PSA UPF network element according to the FAR-2.

[0176] Based on the above introduction of the scheme of establishing the forwarding tunnel between the L-DN and the C-DN, it can be known that the SMF network element issues the PDR and the FAR when establishing the tunnel between the L-DN and the C-DN, and the two rules are mainly used for matching data and performing corresponding forwarding actions on the matched data. However, in actual application, it is generally necessary to guarantee QoS of data and perform traffic statistics (or charging of data). However, there is no scheme supporting QoS guarantee and / or charging of data transmission at a tunnel level in the prior art.

[0177] Based on the problem that the QoS guarantee and / or charging of data transmission at a tunnel level cannot be supported at present, the embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, device and system, which can issue rules for QoS guarantee and / or charging of data transmitted through a tunnel for a data forwarding tunnel between two networks, so as to support the QoS guarantee and / or charging of data transmission at a tunnel level.

[0178] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present application. In the description of the present application, unless otherwise specified, “ / ” represents a “or” relationship between the objects before and after the “ / ”, for example, A / B can represent A or B; “and / or” in the present application is only a description of the relationship between the associated objects, which means that there can be three relationships, for example, A and / or B, which can represent: A alone, A and B together, and B alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. In the description of the present application, unless otherwise specified, “multiple” means two or more than two. “At least one of the following (one)” or the like means any combination of the items, including any combination of single (one) or multiple items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c can represent: a, b, c, a-b, a-c, b-c, or a-b-c, where a, b, and c can be single or multiple. In addition, in order to clearly describe the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, in the embodiments of the present application, the same items or similar items with basically the same function and role are distinguished by using “first”, “second”, and the like. Those skilled in the art can understand that “first”, “second”, and the like do not limit the quantity and execution order, and “first”, “second”, and the like do not necessarily mean different. At the same time, in the embodiments of the present application, “exemplary” or “for example” means to serve as an example, illustration or description. Any embodiment or design scheme described as “exemplary” or “for example” in the embodiments of the present application should not be interpreted as more preferred or more advantageous than other embodiments or design schemes. Rather, the use of “exemplary” or “for example” is intended to present the relevant concept in a specific manner, for understanding.

[0179] In the embodiments of the present application, “indication” can include direct indication and indirect indication, and can also include explicit indication and implicit indication. The information indicated by a certain information (such as the first indication information or the second indication information below) is referred to as to-be-indicated information, and there are many ways to indicate the to-be-indicated information in the specific implementation process, for example, but not limited to, the to-be-indicated information can be directly indicated, such as the to-be-indicated information itself or the index of the to-be-indicated information. The to-be-indicated information can also be indirectly indicated by indicating other information, where the other information and the to-be-indicated information have an association relationship. The to-be-indicated information can also be indicated only by a part, and the other part of the to-be-indicated information is known or agreed in advance. For example, the indication of a specific information can also be achieved by means of the arrangement order of each information agreed in advance (for example, a protocol stipulates), thereby reducing the indication overhead to a certain extent. At the same time, the common part of each information can be identified and uniformly indicated, so as to reduce the indication overhead caused by separately indicating the same information.

[0180] In addition, the specific indication manner can also be various existing indication manners, for example but not limited to the indication manners described above and various combinations thereof. Specific details of various indication manners can be referred to the prior art, and will not be described herein. As known from the above, for example, when multiple information of the same type needs to be indicated, a case can occur that the indication manners of different information are different. In a specific implementation process, a required indication manner can be selected according to specific needs, and the selection of the indication manner is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. In this way, the indication manners involved in the embodiments of the present application should be understood as covering various methods that can enable the to-be-indicated party to know the to-be-indicated information.

[0181] It should be understood that the to-be-indicated information can be sent as a whole or can be divided into multiple sub-information and sent separately, and the sending period and / or sending occasion of the sub-information can be the same or different. The specific sending method is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. The sending period and / or sending occasion of the sub-information can be predefined, for example, predefined according to a protocol, or configured by the sending end device by sending configuration information to the receiving end device.

[0182] In the embodiments of the present application, “predefined”, “predefinition”, “preconfigured” or “preconfiguration” can be implemented by pre-storing corresponding codes, tables or other methods that can be used to indicate related information in the device, for example, can be burned in the device when the device is manufactured, and the specific implementation manner is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. The “storage” can mean storage in one or more memories. The one or more memories can be separately set or integrated in the encoder or decoder, processor or communication device. The one or more memories can be partially separately set and partially integrated in the decoder, processor or communication device. The type of the memory can be any form of storage medium, and the present application is not limited in this regard.

[0183] The “protocol” involved in the embodiments of the present application can refer to a protocol family in the communication field, a standard protocol similar to the protocol family frame structure, or a related protocol applied to a future communication system, and the present application is not limited in this regard.

[0184] In the embodiments of the present application, “when”, “in the case of”, “if” and the like all refer to that the device will make corresponding processing under certain objective circumstances, and are not limited in time, and do not require the device to have a judgment action when implemented, nor mean that there are other limitations.

[0185] In the embodiments of the present application, "sending information to (for example, the first network element) can be understood as that the destination of the information is the first network element. It can include directly or indirectly sending information to the first network element. "Receiving information from (for example, the first network element) can be understood as that the source of the information is the first network element, and it can include directly or indirectly receiving information from the first network element. The information between the source and the destination of the information sending can be processed as necessary, for example, format change, etc., but the destination can understand the valid information from the source. Similar expressions in the present application can be similarly understood, and will not be repeated here.

[0186] The technical solutions provided by the present application can be used in various communication systems, which can be a 3GPP communication system, for example, a 4th generation (4G) mobile communication system, a long term evolution (LTE) system, a 5G mobile communication system and its evolution system, a non-terrestrial network (NTN) system, a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system, a vehicle to everything (V2X) system, a system of LTE and new radio (NR) hybrid networking, or a device-to-device (D2D) system, a machine to machine (M2M) communication system, an internet of things (IoT), and other communication systems, for example, a 6th generation (6G) mobile communication system, etc. In addition, the term "system" can be replaced by "network".

[0187] It should be noted that the network architecture and service scenarios described in the embodiments of the present application are for more clearly illustrating the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application. Those skilled in the art can know that, with the evolution of network architecture and the appearance of new service scenarios, the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0188] FIG. 2 is a possible, non-limiting system diagram provided by embodiments of the present application. As shown in FIG. 2, the communication system includes a first network element, a second network element, a first user plane network element, and a second user plane network element. The first network element and the second network element can communicate with each other. The first network element can communicate with the first user plane network element or the second user plane network element. The first user plane network element is located in a first network, and the second user plane network element is located in a second network. A data forwarding tunnel can be established between the first network and the second network. The first user plane network element or the second user plane network element can forward data from a network at one end of the tunnel to a network at the other end of the tunnel.

[0189] Taking the interaction between the first network element and the second network element as an example, in the communication method provided by embodiments of the present application, the second network element obtains the first policy and sends the first policy to the first network element. After receiving the first policy from the second network element, the first network element generates a first rule and a second rule according to the first policy, and sends the first rule to the first user plane network element and the second rule to the second user plane network element. The first rule is used for the first user plane network element to perform QoS guarantee and / or charging on data transmitted through the first tunnel, and the second rule is used for the second user plane network element to perform QoS guarantee and / or charging on data transmitted through the first tunnel. The first tunnel is a data transmission tunnel between the first network and the second network. The specific implementation and technical effects of this scheme will be described in detail in subsequent method embodiments, and will not be described here.

[0190] Optionally, the communication system to which embodiments of the present application are applicable can also include other network elements or devices not shown in FIG. 2.

[0191] Taking the 5G system as an example, FIG. 3 is a possible, non-limiting network architecture diagram provided by embodiments of the present application. As shown in FIG. 3, the network architecture mainly includes: a terminal device, a radio access network (RAN) node, an access and mobility management function (AMF) network element, an SMF network element, an AF network element, a unified data repository (UDR) network element, a network exposure function (NEF) network element, a charging function (CHF) network element, a UPF (L-PSA UPF and C-PSA UPF) network element, and a DN (L-DN and C-DN).

[0192] The following briefly introduces each part involved in the network architecture shown in FIG. 3.

[0193] Terminal device: can also be referred to as terminal, user equipment (UE), mobile station (MS), mobile terminal, etc., refers to a device used by a user to communicate with a network, for example, a handheld device with wireless connection function, a vehicle-mounted device, etc. At present, some examples of terminal devices are: mobile phone, tablet computer, computer with wireless transceiver function, wearable device, vehicle, unmanned aerial vehicle, helicopter, airplane, ship, robot, mechanical arm, smart home device, etc. Embodiments of the present application do not limit the device form of the terminal device.

[0194] RAN node: can also be referred to as access network device, RAN entity or access node, etc., constitutes a part of a communication system, and is used to help terminal devices access a network. In a possible scenario, the RAN node can be a base station, such as an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), an access point (AP), a transmission reception point (TRP), a next generation NodeB (gNB), a next generation base station in a 6G mobile communication system, a base station in a future mobile communication system, or an access node in a WiFi system, etc. The RAN node can be a macro base station, a micro base station or an indoor station, a relay node or a donor node, or a wireless controller in a cloud radio access network (CRAN) scenario. Optionally, the RAN node can also be a server, a wearable device, a vehicle or a vehicle-mounted device, etc. For example, the RAN node in V2X technology can be a road side unit (RSU).

[0195] In another possible scenario, a terminal device accesses a network by cooperation of multiple RAN nodes, and different RAN nodes respectively implement part of functions of a base station. For example, a RAN node can be a central unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a CU-control plane (CP), a CU-user plane (UP), or a radio unit (RU), etc. The CU and the DU can be separately arranged, or can be included in the same network element, such as a baseband unit (BBU). The RU can be included in a radio frequency device or a radio frequency unit, such as a remote radio unit (RRU), an active antenna processing unit (AAU), or a remote radio head (RRH).

[0196] In different systems, the CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU or RU can also have different names, but those skilled in the art can understand their meanings. For example, in an open RAN (O-RAN or ORAN) system, the CU can also be referred to as an O-CU (open CU), the DU can also be referred to as an O-DU, the CU-CP can also be referred to as an O-CU-CP, the CU-UP can also be referred to as an O-CU-UP, and the RU can also be referred to as an O-RU. For the convenience of description, the CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, DU and RU are taken as examples for description in this application. Any one of the CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU and RU in this application can be implemented by a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module.

[0197] AMF: mainly responsible for registration, connection and mobility management.

[0198] SMF: mainly responsible for session management, such as establishment, modification and release of a session, etc.

[0199] AF: mainly responsible for interaction between an application and other control network elements in a core network on behalf of the application.

[0200] UDR: mainly responsible for providing storage capability of subscription data, policy data and capability exposure related data

[0201] UPF: mainly responsible for processing user packets, such as forwarding, charging statistics, etc.

[0202] NEF: mainly responsible for providing exposure of network capabilities and events to the outside, and receiving related external information.

[0203] CHF: mainly responsible for charging users in the communication system.

[0204] DN: an operator network providing service for terminal devices, such as IP multi-media service (IMS), internet, etc.

[0205] In addition, the interaction relationship between the parts and the corresponding interfaces are also shown in FIG. 3. As shown in FIG. 3, the terminal device accesses the 5G network through the RAN node; the RAN node communicates with the AMF network element through the N2 interface (referred to as N2); the RAN node communicates with the UPF1 network element through the N3 interface (referred to as N3); the SMF network element communicates with the UPF1 network element and the UPF2 network element through the N4 interface (referred to as N4); the UPF1 network element accesses the DN1 through the N6 interface (referred to as N6); and the UPF2 network element accesses the DN2 through the N6 interface. In addition, the UDR, AMF, SMF, NEF, CHF or AF network elements shown in FIG. 3 interact with each other through service interfaces. For example, the service interface provided by the AMF to the outside is Namf; the service interface provided by the SMF to the outside is Nsmf; the service interface provided by the NEF to the outside is Nnef; the service interface provided by the UDR to the outside is Nudr; the service interface provided by the CHF to the outside is Nchf; and the service interface provided by the AF to the outside is Naf. The related function description and interface description can refer to the system architecture diagram in the existing standard, and will not be described here.

[0206] It should be noted that the interface names between the network elements in FIG. 3 are only an example, and the interface names in the specific implementation can be other names, which are not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0207] Optionally, the network architecture to which the embodiments of the present application are applicable can also include other network elements not shown in FIG. 3, such as a network repository function (NRF) network element and a PCF network element, which are not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0208] In this paper, the network element can also be referred to as an entity or a functional entity, for example, the AMF network element can also be referred to as an AMF entity or an AMF functional entity, and for example, the SMF network element can also be referred to as an SMF entity or an SMF functional entity.

[0209] For example, if the communication system shown in FIG. 2 is applied to the network architecture shown in FIG. 3, the first network element can be the SMF network element, the second network element can be the NEF network element, the first user plane network element can be the UPF1 network element, the second user plane network element can be the UPF2 network element, the first network can be the DN1, and the second network can be the DN2.

[0210] The following will take the first network element and the second network element shown in FIG. 2 as an example to illustrate the communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application.

[0211] It should be noted that the names of messages between network elements or the names of parameters in the messages in the following embodiments of the present application are only examples, and other names can also be used in the specific implementation, and the embodiments of the present application do not make specific limitations.

[0212] In the embodiments of the present application, the action performed by a certain network element, such as sending information to another network element, can be implicitly triggered based on the information exchanged between network elements, such as protocol definition or prior agreement, a certain network element performs the corresponding action after receiving a certain information or multiple information. Alternatively, the action performed by a certain network element can also be implicitly triggered based on certain specific conditions, for example, a certain network element generates a policy, which triggers the network element to send the generated policy to another network element. Alternatively, the action performed by a certain network element can also be explicitly triggered based on the indication information indicating the execution of the action. For example, a certain network element receives indication information indicating sending information a to another network element, which explicitly triggers the network element to send information a to another network element.

[0213] As shown in FIG. 4, a communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application. In FIG. 4, the first network element and the second network element are taken as an example to illustrate the execution subject of the interaction, but the present application does not limit the execution subject of the interaction. For example, the first network element in FIG. 4 can also be a module applied to the first network element, such as a chip, a chip system, or a processor, and can also be a logic node, a logic module or software capable of realizing all or part of the function of the first network element. The second network element in FIG. 4 can also be a module applied to the second network element, such as a chip, a chip system, or a processor, and can also be a logic node, a logic module or software capable of realizing all or part of the function of the second network element.

[0214] As shown in FIG. 4, the communication method includes steps S401-S404:

[0215] S401, the second network element acquires the first policy.

[0216] S402, the second network element sends the first policy to the first network element, and correspondingly, the first network element receives the first policy from the second network element.

[0217] S403, the first network element generates a first rule and a second rule according to the first policy. The first rule is used for the first user plane network element to perform QoS guarantee and / or charging on the data transmitted through the first tunnel. The second rule is used for the second user plane network element to perform QoS guarantee and / or charging on the data transmitted through the first tunnel. The first tunnel is a data transmission tunnel between the first network and the second network. The first user plane network element is located in the first network, and the second user plane network element is located in the second network.

[0218] S404, the first network element sends the first rule to the first user plane network element, and sends the second rule to the second user plane network element.

[0219] Based on the communication method provided in the embodiments of the present application, the first network element can generate and distribute rules for QoS guarantee and / or charging based on the acquired policy, so as to implement QoS guarantee and / or charging on the data transmitted through the tunnel between the two networks. If the communication method provided in the embodiments of the present application is applied to the application scenario of establishing a forwarding tunnel between the L-DN and the C-DN, it can support QoS guarantee and / or charging for tunnel-level data transmission, and solve the problem that the data transmitted through the tunnel cannot implement QoS guarantee and / or charging. However, the embodiments of the present application are not limited to establishing a forwarding tunnel between the L-DN and the C-DN. The first network or the second network is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. The first network can be any DN, and the second network can also be any DN. For example, the embodiments of the present application can also be applied to the application scenario of establishing a forwarding tunnel between different C-DNs, or the application scenario of establishing a forwarding tunnel between different L-DNs, etc.

[0220] The following will be expanded to introduce S401.

[0221] In S401, the first policy can include a QoS policy and / or a charging policy. The QoS policy includes information related to QoS guarantee, such as 5G QoS identifier (5G QoS identifier, 5QI), QoS notification control (QoS notification control, QNC), reflective QoS control, priority level, maximum data burst volume, and the like. The charging policy includes information related to data charging, such as charging key, service identifier, Sponsor Identifier, Application Service Provider Identifier, charging method, and the like. Embodiments of the present application do not limit the information included in the first policy.

[0222] Optionally, the first policy can be generated in the form of a policy and charging control (PCC) rule (PCC rule), or can be generated in the form of a separate QoS and / or charging policy (i.e., in the form of a policy independent of the PCC rule). Embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific form of the first policy.

[0223] In embodiments of the present application, the specific generation process of the first policy is described below, and is not expanded here.

[0224] In embodiments of the present application, the network element that generates the first policy and the second network element can be the same network element, or can be different network elements. For example, assuming that the PCF network element generates the first policy, the second network element can be the PCF network element, or can be another PCF network element, or can be a NEF network element.

[0225] If the second network element is not the network element that generates the first policy, the second network element can obtain the first policy from other network elements. For example, assuming that the network element that generates the first policy stores the first policy to a third network element (such as a UDR network element), the second network element can obtain the first policy from the third network element.

[0226] For the second network element to obtain the first policy from the third network element, in a possible implementation, the second network element can send a second subscription message to the third network element, where the second subscription message is used to subscribe to the QoS policy and / or the charging policy. After receiving the second subscription message, the third network element sends a response message (hereinafter referred to as a second response message) to the second subscription message to the second network element, and the response message includes the first policy.

[0227] In the foregoing embodiment, the second network element sends the second subscription message to the third network element, which can also be regarded as that the second network element invokes a service for subscribing to the QoS policy and / or the charging policy. The third network element sends the second response message to the second network element, which can also be regarded as that the third network element invokes a service for sending the QoS policy and / or the charging policy. Similar expressions in the following embodiments can also be understood in this way.

[0228] The second subscription message is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. For example, assuming that the second network element is an NEF network element, the second subscription message can be Nudr_TunnelPolicy_Subcribe Request (or the second network element invokes the Nudr_TunnelPolicy_Subcribe Request service). Assuming that the second network element is a PCF network element, the second subscription message can be Nudr_TunnelPolicy_Subcribe Request (or the second network element invokes the Nudr_TunnelPolicy_Subcribe Request service).

[0229] The second response message is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. For example, assuming that the third network element is a UDR network element, the second response message can be Nudr_TunnelPolicy_Notify Request.

[0230] Optionally, in the embodiments of the present application, after a network element (for example, network element a) sends a message to another network element (for example, network element b), network element b can feed back a response message to network element a, where the response message is used to notify network element a that network element b has received the message sent by network element a. For example, in the embodiments of the present application, the network element sends a “... Request message” (for example, Nudr_TunnelPolicy_Subcribe Request message) to another network element, and the network element receiving the Request message can feed back a Response message (for example, Nudr_TunnelPolicy_Subcribe Response) to the Request, to notify the network element sending the Request message that the Request message has been received.

[0231] Optionally, if the second network element is the network element that generates the first policy, the second network element can also first store the first policy to the third network element, and then acquire the first policy from the third network element when the first policy needs to be sent to the first network element. Alternatively, the second network element can also directly send the first policy to the first network element after generating the first policy, without storing the first policy to the third network element first.

[0232] Optionally, the first policy acquired by the second network element can correspond to the first information. It can also be understood that the first policy is a QoS policy and / or a charging policy corresponding to the first information. The first information includes at least one of the following information: an application identifier (Application ID), a data network name (DNN), or slice information. The application identifier is used to identify a specific application, and the slice information is used to describe a specific network slice, for example, single network slice selection assistance information (S-NSSAI).

[0233] In the scenario where the first policy corresponds to the first information, if the second network element sends a second subscription message to the third network element, the second subscription message is used to subscribe to the QoS policy and / or the charging policy corresponding to the first information. After receiving the second subscription message, the third network element sends the first policy to the second network element, and the first policy is the QoS policy and / or the charging policy corresponding to the first information.

[0234] Optionally, the second subscription message can include the first information. The third network element determines the QoS policy and / or the charging policy to be fed back to the second network element based on the first information in the second subscription message.

[0235] Optionally, when the third network element sends the first policy to the second network element, the first information can also be sent. For example, the second subscription message includes the first policy and the first information.

[0236] Optionally, in the embodiments of the present application, the first policy can be a tunnel-level policy, which is independent of a session or an IP address of a terminal device.

[0237] The following describes specific generation manners of several possible first policies provided by the embodiments of the present application.

[0238] Implementation manner one:

[0239] The fourth network element sends the third information to another network element (hereinafter referred to as an intermediate network element), and the intermediate network element receives the third information and sends the third information to the sixth network element. The third information includes the QoS parameter, the information of the application service provider, and the first information. The sixth network element generates the QoS policy and / or the charging policy (including the first policy) corresponding to the first information according to the QoS parameter and the information of the application service provider in the third information.

[0240] Optionally, the sixth network element can store the generated QoS policy and / or charging policy to the third network element. Optionally, when the sixth network element stores the QoS policy and / or charging policy, the first information can also be stored to the third network element.

[0241] For example, the fourth network element can be an AF network element, the intermediate network element can be an NEF network element, the sixth network element can be a PCF network element, and the third network element can be a UDR network element.

[0242] Optionally, the intermediate network element and the second network element can be the same network element or different network elements. For example, the intermediate network element and the second network element can be the same NEF network element. For another example, the intermediate network element is an NEF network element, and the second network element is a PCF network element.

[0243] Optionally, the sixth network element and the second network element can be the same network element or different network elements. For example, in the first implementation, the sixth network element and the second network element are the same PCF network element. For another example, the sixth network element is a PCF1 network element, and the second network element is a PCF2 network element or an NEF network element.

[0244] The message carrying the third information is not limited in the embodiment of the application. For example, the fourth network element can send the third information to the intermediate network element through an Nnef_TunnelPolicy_Create Request message (or called Nnef_TunnelPolicy_Create Request service). For another example, the intermediate network element can send the third information to the sixth network element through an Npcf_TunnelPolicy_Create Requset message (or called Nnef_TunnelPolicy_Create Request service).

[0245] Optionally, in the first implementation, after receiving the third information, the intermediate network element can determine whether the fourth network element is trusted according to the third information. If the fourth network element is trusted, the intermediate network element sends the third information to the sixth network element, otherwise, the intermediate network element does not send the third information to the sixth network element.

[0246] Optionally, after judging whether the fourth network element is trusted, the intermediate network element can further send a notification message to the fourth network element, the notification message being used to indicate whether the judging result is passed or failed (or, indicating whether the fourth network element is trusted).

[0247] Optionally, the fourth network element can send fourth indication information to the intermediate network element, for example, sending the fourth indication information to the intermediate network element together with the third information. The fourth indication information is used to indicate whether the fourth network element is trusted, and forward the third information to the sixth network element in the case of being trusted. The intermediate network element judges whether the fourth network element is trusted based on the fourth indication information. Alternatively, the intermediate network element can be implicitly triggered to judge whether the fourth network element is trusted, and forward the third information to the sixth network element in the case of being trusted, through the third information, a message carrying the third information, etc.

[0248] Optionally, the intermediate network element can further send fifth indication information to the sixth network element, for example, sending the fifth indication information to the sixth network element together with the third information. The fifth indication information is used to instruct the sixth network element to generate a QoS policy and / or a charging policy. Optionally, the fifth indication information can also instruct the sixth network element to store the QoS policy and / or the charging policy to the third network element. The action performed by the sixth network element after receiving the third information can be explicitly triggered by the fifth indication information. Alternatively, it can be implicitly triggered, for example, the sixth network element receiving one or more pieces of information included in the third information implicitly triggers the sixth network element to generate a QoS policy and / or a charging policy, the sixth network element generating a QoS policy and / or a charging policy implicitly triggers the sixth network element to store the QoS policy and / or the charging policy to the third network element.

[0249] Suppose in the first implementation manner, the fourth network element is an AF network element, the intermediate network element is an NEF network element, the sixth network element is a PCF network element, and the third network element is a UDR network element. A possible, non-limiting flow of the first implementation manner is shown in FIG. 5, including the following steps:

[0250] S501, the AF network element sends third information to the NEF network element by invoking the Nnef_TunnelPolicy_Create Request service, wherein the third information includes QoS parameters, sponsor information of an application service provider, and first information (the first information includes at least one of Application ID, DNN or S-NSSAI). Optionally, the AF network element further sends fourth indication information to the NEF network element.

[0251] S502, the NEF network element judges whether the AF network element is trusted.

[0252] S503, the NEF network element sends a notification message to the AF network element, the notification message notifies the determination result, if the determination result indicates pass, continue to execute the subsequent steps, if the determination result indicates failure, stop executing the subsequent steps.

[0253] S504, the NEF network element sends the third information to the PCF network element by calling the Npcf_TunnelPolicy_Create Requset service. Optionally, the NEF network element also sends the fifth indication information to the PCF network element.

[0254] S505, the PCF network element generates a QoS policy and / or a charging policy according to the QoS parameter and the sponsor information in the third information. The generated QoS policy and / or charging policy corresponds to the first information in the third information, that is, in S505, the PCF network element generates the first policy.

[0255] Optionally, S505 can further include: S506, the PCF network element stores the QoS policy and / or the charging policy and the first information to the UDR network element.

[0256] Implementation mode two:

[0257] The fourth network element sends EAS deployment information (hereinafter referred to as EDI) to another network element (hereinafter referred to as intermediate network element). The EDI includes QoS parameters, application service provider information (sponsor information), and first information. Exemplarily, the application service provider information can include an application service provider identifier (sponsor identifier) and / or application service provider identity (application service provider identity).

[0258] Optionally, the EDI can further include at least one of the following information: a first IP address, a second IP address, a first DNAI, or a second DNAI.

[0259] The first IP address is the IP address of a specific network element in the first network, which can forward the data of the first network through the first tunnel to a specific network element in the second network for processing, and the data of the second network can be transmitted through the first tunnel to the specific network element for processing. It can also be understood that the first IP address is the source address of the data of the first network transmitted through the first tunnel, and can also be the destination address of the data of the second network transmitted through the first tunnel. Exemplarily, the first IP address can be the IP address of the EAS or AS in the first network.

[0260] The second IP address is an IP address of a specific network element in the second network, and the specific network element can forward data of the second network through the first tunnel to a specific network element in the first network for processing, and data of the first network can be transmitted through the first tunnel to the specific network element for processing. It can also be understood that the second IP address is a source address of the data of the second network transmitted through the first tunnel, and can also be a destination address of the data of the first network transmitted through the first tunnel.

[0261] The first DNAI is used to identify the first network, and the second DNAI is used to identify the second network.

[0262] After receiving the EDI, the intermediate network element splits the EDI, sends the first information in the EDI to the first network element (optionally, at least one of the following information in the EDI can also be sent to the first network element: the first IP address, the second IP address, the first DNAI, and the second DNAI), and sends the following information in the EDI to another network element (hereinafter referred to as the eighth network element): the QoS parameter, the information of the application service provider, and the first information. The eighth network element stores the received information and establishes a correspondence relationship among the QoS parameter, the information of the application service provider, and the first information.

[0263] Further, after receiving the first information in the EDI, the first network element sends the first information to the second network element to subscribe (which can also be understood as requesting) the QoS policy and / or the charging policy corresponding to the first information. The second network element sends the first information to the eighth network element based on the subscription of the first network element. After receiving the first information, the eighth network element sends the QoS parameter and the information of the application service provider corresponding to the first information to the second network element (optionally, the eighth network element can also send the first information to the second network element). After receiving the QoS parameter and the information of the application service provider corresponding to the first information, the second network element generates the QoS policy and / or the charging policy (including the first policy) corresponding to the first information based on the QoS parameter and the information of the application service provider.

[0264] Further, the second network element sends the generated first policy to the first network element.

[0265] Since in the second implementation, the second network element generates and sends the first policy to the first network element based on the subscription of the first network element, the second implementation can also be understood as an implementation in which the second network element obtains the first policy and sends the first policy to the first network element.

[0266] For example, the fourth network element can be an AF network element. The intermediate network element can be an NEF network element. The second network element can be a PCF network element. The first network element can be an SMF network element. The eighth network element can be a UDR network element.

[0267] Optionally, in the implementation manner, the EDI can further include one or more information, for example, information included in the EDI in the existing protocol, and for example, in the scheme of establishing a tunnel between two networks shown in FIG. 1, information for identifying whether the DNAI corresponds to an L-DN or a C-DN, and information for identifying whether the L-DN needs to communicate with the C-DN, which can be referred to the introduction of the EDI in the related technology of the application. Optionally, the intermediate network element can further send the other information included in the EDI to the first network element.

[0268] Optionally, in the implementation manner, the fourth network element can further send seventh indication information to the intermediate network element, the seventh indication information being used to instruct the intermediate network element to split the EDI and send the split information to the corresponding network element. The intermediate network element splitting the EDI and sending the split information to the corresponding network element can be triggered by the seventh indication information, or can be triggered by one or more information in the received EDI.

[0269] Optionally, in the implementation manner, the intermediate network element can further send eighth indication information to the first network element, the eighth indication information being used to instruct the first network element to request the first policy from the second network element.

[0270] Optionally, in the implementation manner, the first network element subscribing to the first policy from the second network element can be triggered by information (such as the eighth indication information, or one or more information in the EDI) sent by the intermediate network element to the first network element. Alternatively, the first network element can subscribe to the first policy from the second network element when determining to establish the first tunnel according to the EDI, for example, the first network element can determine to establish the first tunnel in the process of discovering the EAS, or in the process of establishing the PDU session, and then trigger the first network element to subscribe to the first policy from the second network element. Wherein, assuming that the second network element is a PCF network element, if the first network element is triggered to subscribe to the first policy from the second network element in the process of establishing the PDU session, the first network element needs to determine the second network element (such as interacting with the NRF network element to discover the second network element), and if the first network element is triggered to subscribe to the first policy from the second network element after the PDU session is established, the first network element does not need to determine the second network element.

[0271] The first policy can also be generated by other manners, and the embodiments of the application do not limit the specific generation manner of the first policy.

[0272] The following introduces S402 based on different scenarios triggering S402.

[0273] Scenario one: the second network element sends the first policy to the first network element, which is triggered by the first network element, or in other words, the first network element actively obtains the first policy from the second network element. For example, the first network element sends a first subscription message to the second network element, and the first subscription message is used to subscribe to a QoS policy and / or a charging policy. The second network element obtains the first policy based on the first subscription message, and sends a response message (hereinafter referred to as a first response message) to the first subscription message to the first network element, and the response message includes the first policy.

[0274] The embodiment of the present application does not make specific limitation on the first subscription message. For example, assuming that the first network element is an SMF network element, the first subscription message can be Nnef_TunnelPolicy_Subcribe Request (or in other words, the first network element invokes the Nudr_TunnelPolicy_Subcribe Request service).

[0275] The embodiment of the present application does not make specific limitation on the first response message. For example, assuming that the second network element is an NEF network element, the first response message can be Nnef_TunnelPolicy_Notify Request (or in other words, the second network element invokes the Nnef_TunnelPolicy_Notify Request service). Assuming that the second network element is a PCF network element, the first response message can be Npcf_TunnelPolicy_Notify Request (or in other words, the second network element invokes the Npcf_TunnelPolicy_Notify Request service).

[0276] For the second network element obtaining the first policy based on the first subscription message, in one possible implementation, the second network element can obtain the first policy from other network elements (such as the third network element) after receiving the first subscription message. For example, if the first policy is generated by using the implementation manner one introduced in S401, after the sixth network element stores the generated first policy to the third network element, the second network element can obtain the first policy from the third network element based on the subscription of the first network element.

[0277] Optionally, in the implementation, the first subscription message can comprise first indication information, the first indication information being used to indicate the second network element to acquire the QoS policy and / or the charging policy. The second network element can determine to acquire the QoS policy and / or the charging policy based on the first indication information (the second network element can acquire the QoS policy and / or the charging policy in any manner). Alternatively, the first indication information can indicate the second network element to request (also can be understood as subscribe) the QoS policy and / or the charging policy from the third network element. The second network element subscribes the QoS policy and / or the charging policy from the third network element based on the first indication information. Alternatively, the second network element can implicitly trigger the second network element to acquire the QoS policy and / or the charging policy or to subscribe the QoS policy and / or the charging policy from the third network element based on the first subscription message or one or more pieces of information carried in the first subscription message.

[0278] For the second network element to acquire the first policy based on the first subscription message, in another possible implementation, the second network element can generate the first policy based on the first subscription message. For example, if the implementation manner two in S401 is adopted to generate the first policy, the second network element can request the eighth network element for relevant information used to generate the QoS policy and / or the charging policy based on the first information sent by the first network element (the message carrying the first information is the first subscription message), and then generate the first policy based on the acquired relevant information.

[0279] Optionally, in scenario one, the first network element can subscribe the QoS policy and / or the charging policy corresponding to the first information. In this case, the first subscription message is used to subscribe the QoS policy and / or the charging policy corresponding to the first information. The second network element acquires the QoS policy and / or the charging policy corresponding to the first information, i.e., the first policy, based on the first subscription message, and sends the first policy to the first network element. The specific implementation of the second network element to acquire the QoS policy and / or the charging policy corresponding to the first information can refer to the description of S401 above.

[0280] Optionally, in the case that the first subscription message is used to subscribe the QoS policy and / or the charging policy corresponding to the first information, the first subscription message can comprise the first information.

[0281] Optionally, the second network element can also send the first information when sending the QoS policy and / or the charging policy corresponding to the first information to the first network element. For example, the first response message comprises the first information and the first policy.

[0282] Scenario two: the second network element actively sends the first policy to the first network element.

[0283] In a possible implementation, the second network element generates the first policy, and sends a third request message to another network element (such as an NRF network element), where the third request message is used to request discovery (which can also be understood as query) of a network element (for example, an SMF network element) used to generate a related rule. After the other network element (for the convenience of introduction, the network element is referred to as a seventh network element below) discovers the network element (that is, the first network element) according to the third request message, the seventh network element sends a third response message to the second network element in response to the third request message, and the third response message includes information of the first network element. For example, the information of the first network element can include at least one of the following: a first network element instance, or an endpoint address of the first network element, and the like. The first network element instance or the endpoint address of the first network element is used to point to the first network element. Further, the second network element sends the first policy to the first network element according to the information of the first network element.

[0284] For example, if the first policy is generated by using the implementation manner one in S401, after the second network element generates the first policy (that is, the second network element is the same as the sixth network element), the second network element can request the NRF network element to discover the SMF network element. The NRF network element sends information of the discovered SMF network element to the second network element.

[0285] The embodiments of the present application do not make specific limitations on the third request message and the third response message. For example, assuming that the seventh network element is an NRF network element, the third request message can be Nnef_NFDiscoverfy Request (or the second network element invokes the Nnef_NFDiscoverfy_Request service). The third response message can be Nnef_NFDiscoverfy Response (or the seventh network element invokes the Nnef_NFDiscoverfy Response service).

[0286] The embodiments of the present application do not make specific limitations on the message carrying the first policy sent by the second network element to the first network element. For example, assuming that the second network element is a PCF network element, the message carrying the first policy can be Npcf_TunnelPolicy_Deliver Request (or the second network element invokes the Npcf_TunnelPolicy_Deliver Request service). Correspondingly, after receiving the Npcf_TunnelPolicy_Deliver Request, the first network element can feed back Npcf_TunnelPolicy_Deliver Response (or the first network element invokes the Npcf_TunnelPolicy_Deliver Response service) to the second network element to notify the second network element that the first network element has received the first policy.

[0287] Optionally, the third request message can request to discover a network element supporting the first information. In this case, the first network element discovered by the seventh network element based on the third request message supports the first information.

[0288] Optionally, in the case that the third request message requests to discover a network element supporting the first information, the third request message can comprise the first information.

[0289] Optionally, the third response message can further comprise the first information to inform the second network element that the first network element supports the first information.

[0290] Optionally, when the second network element sends the first policy to the first network element, the second network element can further send the first information, for example, the first policy and the first information sent by the second network element to the first network element are carried in the same message.

[0291] Optionally, in scenario two, the second network element sending the first policy to the first network element can be triggered based on the received sixth indication information, the sixth indication information being used to indicate that the second network element generates a QoS policy and / or a charging policy and sends the QoS policy and / or the charging policy to a network element that generates a related rule subsequently, for example, an SMF network element (it can be understood that in this case, the first network element is the SMF network element). Alternatively, the second network element sending the first policy to the first network element can be triggered implicitly after the second network element generates the first policy.

[0292] The following describes S403-S404 in detail.

[0293] The first tunnel can also be referred to as a tunnel (or a data forwarding tunnel) between the first user plane network element and the second user plane network element. The first user plane network element and the second user plane network element can implement data intercommunication between the first network and the second network through the first tunnel. Specifically, the second user plane network element can forward data of the second network to the first user plane network element through the first tunnel, and the first user plane network element can send the data of the second network to a destination network element in the first network, for example, an EAS or an AS in the first network, according to a destination address of the data after receiving the data of the second network through the first tunnel. The first tunnel also supports the reverse process: the first user plane network element forwards data of the first network to the second user plane network element through the first tunnel, and the second user plane network element can send the data of the first network to a destination network element in the second network, for example, an EAS or an AS in the second network, according to a destination address of the data after receiving the data of the first network through the first tunnel.

[0294] The first network or the second network can be any network, for example, the first network can be an L-DN or a C-DN, and the second network can also be an L-DN or a C-DN.

[0295] The first network element, after receiving the first policy, generates the first rule and the second rule according to the first policy, and sends the first rule to the first user plane network element and the second rule to the second user plane network element in the process of establishing the first tunnel. The first user plane network element can perform QoS guarantee and / or charging on the data transmitted through the first tunnel according to the first rule. The second user plane network element can perform QoS guarantee and / or charging on the data transmitted through the first tunnel according to the second rule.

[0296] Optionally, the first rule can include a rule for the first user plane network element to perform QoS guarantee and / or charging on the data transmitted through the first tunnel to the first network, and a rule for the first user plane network element to perform QoS guarantee and / or charging on the data transmitted through the first tunnel to the second network (i.e. the data forwarded to the second user plane network element). The second rule can include a rule for the second user plane network element to perform QoS guarantee and / or charging on the data transmitted through the first tunnel to the second network, and a rule for the second user plane network element to perform QoS guarantee and / or charging on the data transmitted through the first tunnel to the first network (i.e. the data forwarded to the first user plane network element).

[0297] The embodiments of the present application do not make specific limitations on the first rule or the second rule. In one possible implementation, the first rule or the second rule can be a default PCC rule configured for the tunnel, or in other words, a default PCC rule at the tunnel level.

[0298] For example, the first rule can include first usage reporting rules (URR) and / or first QoS enforcement rules (QER). That is, the first network element can generate the first URR and / or the first QER according to the first policy. The second rule can include second URR and / or second QER, that is, the first network element can generate the second URR and / or the second QER according to the first policy. For example, the first network element can generate the QER according to the QoS policy in the first policy. For another example, the first network element can generate the URR according to the charging policy in the first policy.

[0299] In one possible case, assuming that the first QoS policy includes a QoS policy and / or a charging policy, the first network element can generate the first QER and the second QER according to the QoS policy, and the first network element can generate the first URR and the second URR according to the charging policy.

[0300] For the first network element to send the first rule to the first user plane network element, and to send the second rule to the second user plane network element, embodiments of the present application do not make specific limitations on the message carrying the first rule or the second rule. For example, assuming that the first network element is an SMF network element, the first network element can send the first rule through an N4 session establishment message or an N4 session update request message sent to the first user plane network element. The first network element can send the second rule through an N4 session establishment message or an N4 session update request message sent to the first user plane network element.

[0301] In the case where the first rule includes multiple different rules, or the second rule includes multiple different rules, the message carrying different rules can be the same message or different messages, and embodiments of the present application do not make specific limitations thereon.

[0302] For example, assuming that the first rule includes URR1, URR4, QER1, and QER4, when the first network element sends URR1, QER1, URR4, and QER4 to the first user plane network element, URR1 and QER1 can be carried in the same message, and URR4 and QER4 are carried in another message. Assuming that the second rule includes URR2, URR3, QER2, and QER3, when the first network element sends URR2, QER2, URR3, and QER3 to the second user plane network element, URR2 and QER2 can be carried in the same message, and URR3 and QER3 are carried in another message. Of course, the sending mode is only one possible example, and in actual application, how the first rule is sent to the first network element and how the second rule is sent to the second network element are not limited.

[0303] For example, the first user plane network element can measure the traffic of data transmitted to the first network through the first tunnel according to URR-1, and perform corresponding QoS rules on the data transmitted to the first network through the first tunnel according to QER-1. The first user plane network element can measure the traffic of data transmitted to the second network through the first tunnel according to URR-4, and perform corresponding QoS rules on the data transmitted to the second network through the first tunnel according to QER-4. Correspondingly, the second user plane network element can measure the traffic of data transmitted to the first network through the first tunnel according to URR-2, and perform corresponding QoS rules on the data transmitted to the first network through the first tunnel according to QER-2. The second user plane network element can measure the traffic of data transmitted to the second network through the first tunnel according to URR-3, and perform corresponding QoS rules on the data transmitted to the second network through the first tunnel according to QER-3.

[0304] For establishing the first tunnel, the first network element can determine to establish the first tunnel according to the EDI.

[0305] In the embodiments of the present application, the EDI can include at least one of the following information: the first IP address, the second IP address, the first DNAI, the second DNAI, the QoS parameter, the information of the application service provider, the application identifier, the DNN, the slice information (for example, S-NSSAI), or the second indication information.

[0306] The meanings of the first IP address, the second IP address, the first DNAI, the second DNAI, the QoS parameter, the information of the application service provider, the application identifier, the DNN, and the slice information can refer to the above description, and will not be repeated here. The second indication information is used to indicate the establishment of the data transmission tunnel between the first network and the second network.

[0307] In addition to the first IP address, the second IP address, the first DNAI, the second DNAI, the application identifier, the DNN, the slice information, and the second indication information, the EDI can also include one or more other information, for example, the information included in the EDI in the existing protocol, and for example, in the scheme shown in FIG. 1 for establishing a tunnel between two networks, information indicating whether the DNAI corresponds to an L-DN or a C-DN, and information indicating whether the L-DN needs to communicate with the C-DN. The specific information can refer to the above description of the EDI in the related technologies of the present application.

[0308] For the EDI, to determine to establish the first tunnel, in a possible implementation, the first network element can determine to establish the first tunnel based on the second indication information in the EDI. In another possible implementation, the two DNAIs in the EDI can be defined by means of predefinition, prior agreement, and the like, that is, the DNAIs corresponding to the two networks for which the data transmission tunnel is to be established. Thus, the first network element can directly determine to establish the first tunnel according to the DNAIs included in the EDI. Alternatively, the first network element can determine to establish the first tunnel by identifying whether the DNAI corresponds to an L-DN or a C-DN, and identifying whether the L-DN needs to communicate with the C-DN.

[0309] The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific conditions under which the first network element decides to establish the first tunnel according to the EDI. For example, the first network element can decide to establish the first tunnel according to the EDI when receiving the EDI. For another example, the first network element can decide to establish the first tunnel according to the EDI when discovering the EAS. For another example, the first network element can decide to establish the first tunnel according to the EDI when establishing a session (for example, a PDU session).

[0310] Optionally, the first network element can actively acquire the first policy from the second network element when determining to establish the first tunnel, and then generate the first rule and the second rule according to the first policy. For example, in scenario one of S402, the first network element can send the first subscription message when determining to establish the first tunnel according to the EDI. In other words, when the first network element decides to establish the first tunnel according to the EDI, the first network element can be triggered to send the first subscription message to the second network element.

[0311] Optionally, the first network element can generate the first rule and the second rule based on the acquired first policy when determining to establish the first tunnel. For example, in scenario two of S402, the first network element can generate the first rule and the second rule according to the first policy when determining to establish the first tunnel according to the EDI after receiving the first policy from the second network element. In other words, when the first network element decides to establish the first tunnel according to the EDI, the first network element can be triggered to generate the first rule and the second rule based on the first policy.

[0312] In addition, the embodiments of the present application also provide an optional solution, which is introduced as follows.

[0313] The second network element can also acquire the first forwarding policy and send the first forwarding policy to the first network element. For example, the first forwarding policy can include at least one of the following information: the first DNAI, or the second DNAI, and the like.

[0314] The embodiments of the present application do not limit how the second network element acquires the first forwarding policy. For example, the second network element can generate the first forwarding policy. For another example, the second network element can acquire the first forwarding policy from other network elements (such as a third network element).

[0315] Optionally, the second network element can send the first policy and the first forwarding policy to the first network element through the same message.

[0316] After receiving the first forwarding policy, the first network element can generate a third rule and a fourth rule based on the first forwarding policy. In the process of establishing the first tunnel, the first network element can send the third rule to the first user plane network element and send the fourth rule to the second user plane network element. The third rule is used for the first user plane network element to match data transmitted through the first tunnel, and the fourth rule is used for the second user plane network element to match data transmitted through the first tunnel.

[0317] For example, the third rule or the fourth rule can be a PDR. For example, the third rule can include PDR1 and PDR4, and the fourth rule can include PDR2 and PDR3. PDR1, PDR2, PDR3, and PDR4 can be specifically referred to the introduction of the related technologies of the present application above, and will not be expanded here.

[0318] Optionally, in embodiments of the present application, the third rule or the fourth rule is a rule at the tunnel level, and does not contain the IP address of the terminal device, that is, the third rule or the fourth rule is irrelevant to the IP address of the terminal device.

[0319] Optionally, the message carrying the first rule sent by the first network element to the first user plane network element can also carry the third rule. Optionally, the message carrying the second rule sent by the first network element to the second user plane network element can also carry the fourth rule.

[0320] For example, assuming that the first rule includes URR1, URR4, QER1, and QER4, and the third rule includes PDR1 and PDR4, URR1, QER1, and PDR1 can be carried in the same message and sent to the first user plane network element, and URR4, QER4, and PDR4 can be carried in another message and sent to the first user plane network element. Assuming that the second rule includes URR2, URR3, QER2, and QER3, and the fourth rule includes PDR2 and PDR3, URR2, QER2, and PDR2 can be carried in the same message and sent to the second user plane network element, and URR3, QER3, and PDR3 can be carried in another message and sent to the second user plane network element. Of course, the sending mode is only one possible example, and in actual application, how the first rule is sent to the first network element and how the second rule is sent to the second network element are not limited.

[0321] Optionally, the first network element can also generate initial fifth and sixth rules based on the first forwarding policy. The first network element sends the initial fifth rule to the first user plane network element and the initial sixth rule to the second user plane network element in the process of establishing the first tunnel. Then, the first network element can update the fifth rule based on the information fed back by the first user plane network element, such as the TEID fed back by the first user plane network element, and update the sixth rule based on the information fed back by the second user plane network element, such as the TEID fed back by the second user plane network element, and then send the updated fifth rule to the first user plane network element and the updated sixth rule to the second user plane network element.

[0322] The fifth rule is used for the first user plane network element to forward data transmitted through the first tunnel, and the sixth rule is used for the second user plane network element to forward data transmitted through the first tunnel. For example, the initial fifth rule can be FAR1, the updated fifth rule can be FAR4, the initial sixth rule can be FAR2, and the updated sixth rule can be FAR3.

[0323] Optionally, the message carrying the first rule sent by the first network element to the first user plane network element can also carry a fifth rule. Optionally, the message carrying the second rule sent by the first network element to the second user plane network element can also carry a sixth rule. For details, refer to the above description of the first network element sending the fourth rule and the fourth rule, which will not be repeated here.

[0324] Optionally, the first network element can actively subscribe to the first forwarding policy from the second network element. For example, in scenario two of S402, the first subscription message can also be used to subscribe to the forwarding policy, and the second network element obtains the first forwarding policy based on the first subscription message. The second network element can send the first forwarding policy and the first policy to the first network element through the first response message. Alternatively, the second network element can actively send the first forwarding policy to the first network element. For example, in scenario two of S402, the second network element can send the first forwarding policy and the first policy to the first network element through the same message according to the information of the first network element discovered after generating the first forwarding policy and the first policy.

[0325] Optionally, the first forwarding policy can also correspond to the first information. For example, in scenario one of S402, the first subscription message can also be used to subscribe to the forwarding policy corresponding to the first information, and the second network element obtains the forwarding policy corresponding to the first information, i.e., the first policy, based on the first subscription message and sends it to the first network element. For another example, in scenario two of S402, the second network element generates the forwarding policy corresponding to the first information, i.e., the first forwarding policy, according to the information related to generating the forwarding policy corresponding to the first information (for example, at least one of the following information: the first DNAI, the second DNAI, the first IP address, or the second IP address, etc.), and sends the first forwarding policy to the first network element supporting the first information. For details, refer to the above description of the related scheme when the first policy corresponds to the first information, which will not be repeated here.

[0326] Optionally, the first network element can also select the first user plane network element and the second user plane network element according to the first forwarding policy. For example, the first network element can select the first user plane network element serving the network corresponding to the first DNAI and the second user plane network element serving the network corresponding to the second DNAI according to the first DNAI and the second DNAI included in the first forwarding policy.

[0327] The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific generation manner of the first forwarding policy. In one possible implementation, the first forwarding policy can be generated by the network element generating the first policy at the same time when the first policy is generated. For example, assuming that the first policy is generated by using the first implementation manner introduced in S401, and the first forwarding policy is generated by the sixth network element, optionally, the third information can further include at least one of the following information: the first IP address, the second IP address, the first DNAI or the second DNAI. The sixth network element can further generate the first forwarding policy according to the third information. Optionally, the sixth network element can further store the first forwarding policy to the third network element.

[0328] Assuming that the fourth network element is an AF network element, the intermediate network element is an NEF network element, the sixth network element is a PCF network element, the third network element is a UDR network element, and the sixth network element generates the first policy and the first forwarding policy, one possible, non-limiting flow is shown in FIG. 6, including the following steps:

[0329] S601, the AF network element sends the third information to the NEF network element by calling the Nnef_TunnelPolicy_Create Request service, wherein the third information includes the QoS parameter, the Sponsor information of the application service provider, the first information, and at least one of the following information: the first IP address, the second IP address, the first DNAI, or the second DNAI. Optionally, the AF network element further sends the fourth indication information to the NEF network element.

[0330] S602-S604 are the same as S502-S504 in the flow shown in FIG. 5.

[0331] S605, the PCF network element generates the QoS policy and / or the charging policy according to the QoS parameter and the Sponsor information in the third information, and generates the forwarding policy according to at least one of the following information in the third information: the first IP address, the second IP address, the first DNAI, or the second DNAI. The QoS policy and / or the charging policy and the forwarding policy generated by the PCF network element correspond to the first information in the third information, that is, in S605, the PCF network element generates the first policy and the first forwarding policy.

[0332] Optionally, S605 can further include S606, the PCF network element stores the QoS policy and / or the charging policy, the forwarding policy and the first information to the UDR network element.

[0333] In addition, the embodiments of the present application also provide an optional scheme, which is introduced as follows.

[0334] The first network element sends second information to the fifth network element, and the second information is used for the fifth network element to generate a charging data record (CDR) for the application service provider. For example, the fifth network element can be a CHF network element. The second information can include an identifier of a user subscribed to the charging record. Optionally, the identifier of the user subscribed to the charging record can be related information of the application service provider, such as an identifier of the application service provider (Sponsor identifier) and / or information of the application service provider (application service provider). Based on the scheme, unlike the existing charging record generated for the terminal device, the charging record can be directly generated for the application service provider, providing another charging granularity.

[0335] The various schemes in the above method embodiments can be combined for application or applied independently. Based on the possible implementation of the combination of different schemes in the above embodiments, the several possible and exemplary processes of the embodiments of the present application are introduced.

[0336] Suppose that in the above method embodiments, the first network element is an SMF network element, the second network element is an NEF / PCF2 network element, the network element generating the first policy is a PCF1 network element, the first user plane network element is a UPF1 network element, and the second user plane network element is a UPF2 network element. One possible and non-limiting process (hereinafter referred to as process one) of the embodiments of the present application can be: the AF network element sends the related information of the charging policy and / or QoS policy to the PCF1 network element, and the PCF1 network element generates the charging policy and / or QoS policy and stores the charging policy and / or QoS policy in the UDR network element. The SMF network element obtains the required first policy from the UDR network element through the NEF / PCF2 network element, generates corresponding rules (first rule and second rule), and sends the first rule to the UPF1 network element and the second rule to the UPF2 network element in the process of establishing the first tunnel.

[0337] As shown in FIG. 7, process one specifically includes the following steps:

[0338] S701, the AF network element sends EDI to the network element in the 5G core network. The AF network element can send EDI to the NEF network element, and the SMF network element can obtain EDI from the NEF network element.

[0339] In a possible implementation, the NEF network element can store the received EDI to the UDR network element. After the SMF network element subscribes to the EDI (for example, subscribes to the EDI corresponding to the DNN) from the NEF network element, the NEF network element requests the corresponding EDI from the UDR network element, and after the UDR network element feeds back the corresponding EDI to the NEF network element, the NEF network element sends the EDI to the SMF network element. In another possible implementation, the NEF network element stores the received EDI. After the SMF network element subscribes to the EDI from the NEF network element, the NEF network element finds the corresponding EDI and sends the found EDI to the SMF network element.

[0340] The EDI includes at least one of the following pieces of information: the first IP address, the second IP address, the first DNAI, or the second DNAI.

[0341] Optionally, the EDI can further include one or more pieces of information. For details, refer to the description of the information included in the EDI in the related technology of the present application.

[0342] After S701, if the second network element is the NEF network element, the flow one includes S702a-S705a.

[0343] S702a, the SMF network element sends first information to the NEF network element by invoking the Nnef_TunnelPolicy_Subcribe Request service, to subscribe to the QoS policy and / or the charging policy corresponding to the first information. The first information includes at least one of the following: an application identifier, a DNN, or slice information.

[0344] Optionally, the SMF network element can further send first indication information to the NEF network element. The first indication information is used to instruct the NEF network element to request the QoS policy and / or the charging policy corresponding to the first information from the UDR network element.

[0345] The trigger condition of S702a can be that the SMF network element decides to establish a data forwarding tunnel (that is, a first tunnel) between the first network and the second network based on the EDI. The SMF network element can specifically decide to establish the first tunnel based on the EDI when receiving the EDI, discovering the EAS, establishing a PDU session, and the like.

[0346] S703a, the NEF network element sends first information to the UDR network element by invoking the Nudr_TunnelPolicy_Subcribe Request service, to subscribe to the QoS policy and / or the charging policy corresponding to the first information.

[0347] Optionally, the NEF network element can further send third indication information to the UDR network element. The third indication information is used to instruct the UDR network element to return the requested policy.

[0348] S704a, the UDR network element sends the first policy to the NEF network element by invoking the Nudr_TunnelPolicy_Notify Request service, the first policy being the QoS policy and / or charging policy corresponding to the first information. Optionally, the UDR network element can also send the first information to the NEF network element when sending the first policy.

[0349] S705a, the NEF network element sends the first policy to the SMF network element by invoking the Nnef_TunnelPolicy_Notify Request service. Optionally, the NEF network element can also send the first information to the SMF network element when sending the first policy.

[0350] S702a-S705a can refer to the above description of the second network element obtaining the first policy from the third network element in S401, and scenario one in S402.

[0351] After S701, if the second network element is the PCF2 network element, the process one includes S702b-S705b:

[0352] S702b, the SMF network element invokes the Npcf_TunnelPolicy_Subcribe Request service to send the first information to the PCF2 network element to subscribe to the QoS policy and / or charging policy corresponding to the first information. The first information includes at least one of the following: application identifier, DNN, or slice information.

[0353] Optionally, the SMF network element can also send the first indication information to the PCF2 network element, the first indication information being used to instruct the PCF2 network element to request the UDR network element for the QoS policy and / or charging policy corresponding to the first information.

[0354] The trigger condition of S702b can be that the SMF network element decides to establish a data forwarding tunnel (i.e., the first tunnel) between the first network and the second network based on the EDI. The SMF network element can specifically decide to establish the first tunnel based on the EDI when receiving the EDI, discovering the EAS, establishing the PDU session, etc.

[0355] S703b, the PCF2 network element sends the first information to the UDR network element by invoking the Nudr_TunnelPolicy_Subcribe Request service to subscribe to the QoS policy and / or charging policy corresponding to the first information.

[0356] Optionally, the PCF2 network element can also send the third indication information to the UDR network element, the third indication information being used to instruct the UDR network element to return the requested policy.

[0357] S704b, the UDR network element sends the first policy to the PCF2 network element by invoking the Nudr_TunnelPolicy_Notify Request service, the first policy being the QoS policy and / or the charging policy corresponding to the first information. Optionally, the UDR network element can also send the first information to the PCF2 network element when sending the first policy.

[0358] S705b, the PCF2 network element sends the first policy to the SMF network element by invoking the Npcf_TunnelPolicy_Notify Request service. Optionally, the PCF2 network element can also send the first information to the SMF network element when sending the first policy.

[0359] S702b-S705b can refer to the above description of S401 and scenario one of S402.

[0360] Before S702a-S705a or S702b-S705b, the PCF1 network element generates the first policy and stores it in the UDR network element. For example, the specific process of generating the first policy by the PCF1 network element can refer to S501-S506 in the flow shown in FIG. 5. The PCF1 network element and the PCF2 network element can be the same network element or different network elements.

[0361] After S702a-S705a or S702b-S705b, flow one includes the following steps:

[0362] S706, the SMF network element selects the UPF1 network element in the first network and the UPF2 network element in the second network based on the first DNAI and the second DNAI in the EDI.

[0363] The condition for triggering S706 can be that the SMF network element receives the first policy.

[0364] S707, the SMF network element interacts with the UPF1 network element and the UPF2 network element multiple times to construct a data forwarding tunnel between the first network and the second network (or a data forwarding tunnel between the UPF1 network element and the UPF2 network element, i.e., the first tunnel).

[0365] The SMF network element can generate the first rule and the second rule based on the first policy, and send the first rule to the UPF1 network element and the second rule to the UPF2 network element in the tunnel establishment process. The first rule is used for the UPF1 network element to perform QoS guarantee and / or charging on the data transmitted through the first tunnel, for example, the first rule can include URR and / or QER. The second rule is used for the UPF2 network element to perform QoS guarantee and / or charging on the data transmitted through the first tunnel, for example, the second rule can include URR and / or QER.

[0366] Optionally, the flow one can further include:

[0367] S708, the SMF network element interacts with the CHF network element to generate a CDR for the application service provider. Optionally, the subscription identifier of the user subscribed to the CDR can be related information of the application service provider, such as a sponsor identifier and / or an application service provider.

[0368] In the above method embodiment, the first network element is the SMF network element, the second network element is the same PCF network element as the network element generating the first policy, the first user plane network element is the UPF1 network element, and the second user plane network element is the UPF2 network element. Another possible, non-limiting flow (hereinafter referred to as flow two) of the present embodiment can be: the AF sends the charging policy and / or QoS policy related information to the PCF network element, the PCF generates the QoS policy and / or charging policy corresponding to the first information (i.e. the first policy) and interacts with the NRF network element to discover the SMF network element supporting the first information. Further, the PCF network element sends the generated first policy to the SMF network element. The SMF network element generates corresponding rules (first rule and second rule) based on the first policy, and sends the first rule to the UPF1 network element and the second rule to the UPF2 network element in the establishment process of the first tunnel.

[0369] As shown in FIG. 8, the flow two specifically includes the following steps:

[0370] S801, the AF network element sends an EDI to a network element in the 5G core network. The AF network element can send the EDI to the NEF network element, and the SMF network element can obtain the EDI from the NEF network element.

[0371] In a possible implementation, the NEF network element can store the received EDI to the UDR network element, after the SMF network element subscribes to the EDI (such as the EDI corresponding to the DNN) from the NEF network element, the NEF network element requests the corresponding EDI from the UDR network element, and after the UDR network element feeds back the corresponding EDI to the NEF network element, the NEF network element sends the EDI to the SMF network element. In another possible implementation, the NEF network element saves the received EDI, and after the SMF network element subscribes to the EDI from the NEF network element, the NEF network element finds the corresponding EDI and sends the found EDI to the SMF network element.

[0372] The EDI includes at least one of the following information: the first IP address, the second IP address, the first DNAI, or the second DNAI.

[0373] Optionally, the EDI can further include one or more information, which can be referred to the above introduction of the information included in the EDI in the related technology of the application.

[0374] S802, the AF network element sends third information to the NEF network element by invoking the Nnef_TunnelPolicy_Create Request service, wherein the third information includes QoS parameters, sponsor information of an application service provider, and first information (the first information includes at least one of the following: Application ID, DNN, or S-NSSAI). Optionally, the AF network element further sends fourth indication information to the NEF network element.

[0375] S803, the NEF network element judges whether the AF network element is trusted.

[0376] S804, the NEF network element sends a notification message to the AF network element, the notification message notifying the judgment result, if the judgment result indicates pass, the subsequent steps are continued to be executed, if the judgment result indicates failure, the subsequent steps are stopped to be executed.

[0377] S805, the NEF network element sends the third information to the PCF network element by invoking the Npcf_TunnelPolicy_Create Requset service. Optionally, the NEF network element further sends sixth indication information to the PCF network element, the sixth indication information being used to instruct the PCF network element to generate a QoS policy and / or a charging policy, and send the QoS policy and / or the charging policy to the SMF network element supporting the first information.

[0378] S806, the PCF network element generates a QoS policy and / or a charging policy according to the QoS parameter and the Sponsor information in the third information, and the generated QoS policy and / or charging policy correspond to the first information in the third information, that is, the PCF network element generates the first policy in S806.

[0379] S807, the PCF network element sends the first information to the NRF network element to query an SMF network element supporting the first information.

[0380] S807 can be triggered by the PCF network element receiving the sixth indication information, or can be triggered after the PCF network element generates the first policy.

[0381] S808, the NRF network element queries the SMF network element supporting the first information sent by the PCF network element, and sends information (such as an SMF instance or an endpoint address of the SMF network element) of the SMF network element to the PCF network element.

[0382] S809, after the PCF network element receives the information of the SMF network element from the NRF network element, the PCF network element sends the first policy to the SMF network element by invoking the Nnef_TunnelPolicy_Deliver Request service. Optionally, when the PCF network element sends the first policy, the PCF network element can also send the first information to the SMF network element.

[0383] S810, the SMF network element selects a UPF1 network element located in the first network and a UPF2 network element located in the second network based on the first DNAI and the second DNAI in the EDI.

[0384] The condition for triggering S810 to be executed can be that the SMF network element receives the first policy.

[0385] S811, the SMF network element interacts with the UPF1 network element and the UPF2 network element multiple times to construct a data forwarding tunnel between the first network and the second network (or a data forwarding tunnel between the UPF1 network element and the UPF2 network element, that is, a first tunnel).

[0386] The SMF network element can generate a first rule and a second rule based on the first policy, and send the first rule to the UPF1 network element and the second rule to the UPF2 network element during the tunnel establishment process. The first rule is used for the UPF1 network element to perform QoS guarantee and / or charging on data transmitted through the first tunnel, for example, the first rule can include URR and / or QER. The second rule is used for the UPF2 network element to perform QoS guarantee and / or charging on data transmitted through the first tunnel, for example, the second rule can include URR and / or QER.

[0387] Optionally, process two can also include:

[0388] S812, the SMF network element interacts with the CHF network element, thereby generating a CDR for the application service provider. For details, refer to the description of S708 above.

[0389] In the above method embodiments, assuming that the first network element is an SMF network element, the second network element is an NEF / PCF2 network element, the network element generating the first policy and the first forwarding policy is a PCF1 network element, the first user plane network element is a UPF1 network element, and the second user plane network element is a UPF2 network element, a possible, non-limiting flow (hereinafter referred to as flow three) of the embodiments of the present application can be as follows: the AF network element sends the charging policy and / or QoS policy related information and the forwarding policy related information to the PCF1 network element, the PCF1 network element generates the QoS policy and / or charging policy and the forwarding policy, and stores the generated policies to the UDR network element. The SMF network element obtains the required first policy and first forwarding policy from the UDR network element through the NEF / PCF2 network element, generates corresponding rules (first rule, second rule, third rule and fourth rule), and sends the first rule and the third rule to the UPF1 network element and the second rule and the fourth rule to the UPF2 network element in the process of establishing a tunnel.

[0390] As shown in FIG. 9, the flow specifically includes the following steps:

[0391] S901, the AF network element sends an EDI to a network element in the 5G core network. The AF network element can send the EDI to the NEF network element, and the SMF network element can obtain the EDI from the NEF network element.

[0392] In a possible implementation, the NEF network element can store the received EDI to the UDR network element, after the SMF network element subscribes to the EDI (for example, subscribes to the EDI corresponding to the DNN) from the NEF network element, the NEF network element requests the corresponding EDI from the UDR network element, after the UDR network element feeds back the corresponding EDI to the NEF network element, the NEF network element sends the EDI to the SMF network element. In another possible implementation, the NEF network element saves the received EDI, after the SMF network element subscribes to the EDI from the NEF network element, the NEF network element finds the corresponding EDI, and sends the found EDI to the SMF network element.

[0393] The EDI includes second indication information, and the second indication information is used to indicate the establishment of a data transmission tunnel (i.e., a first tunnel) between the first network and the second network.

[0394] Optionally, the EDI can also include one or more other information, for details, refer to the description of the information included in the EDI in the related technologies of the present application above.

[0395] After S901, if the second network element is an NEF network element, process three includes S902a-S905a.

[0396] S902a, the SMF network element sends the first information to the NEF network element by invoking the Nnef_TunnelPolicy_Subcribe Request service, to subscribe to the QoS policy and / or charging policy corresponding to the first information, and the forwarding policy corresponding to the first information. The first information includes at least one of the following: application identifier, DNN, or slice information.

[0397] Optionally, the SMF network element can also send first indication information to the NEF network element, the first indication information being used to instruct the NEF network element to request the UDR network element for the QoS policy and / or charging policy corresponding to the first information, and the forwarding policy corresponding to the first information.

[0398] The trigger condition of S902a can be that the SMF network element decides to establish a data forwarding tunnel (i.e., a first tunnel) between the first network and the second network based on the EDI. The SMF network element can specifically decide to establish the first tunnel according to the second indication information in the EDI when receiving the EDI, discovering the EAS, establishing a PDU session, etc.

[0399] S903a, the NEF network element sends the first information to the UDR network element by invoking the Nudr_TunnelPolicy_Subcribe Request service, to subscribe to the QoS policy and / or charging policy corresponding to the first information, and the forwarding policy corresponding to the first information.

[0400] Optionally, the NEF network element can also send third indication information to the UDR network element, the third indication information being used to instruct the UDR network element to return the requested policy.

[0401] S904a, the UDR network element sends the first policy and the first forwarding policy to the NEF network element by invoking the Nudr_TunnelPolicy_Notify Request service, the first policy being the QoS policy and / or charging policy corresponding to the first information, and the first forwarding policy being the forwarding policy corresponding to the first information. Optionally, the UDR network element can also send the first information to the NEF network element when sending the first policy and the first forwarding policy.

[0402] S905a, the NEF network element sends the first policy and the first forwarding policy to the SMF network element by invoking the Nnef_TunnelPolicy_Notify Request service. Optionally, the NEF network element can also send the first information to the SMF network element when sending the first policy and the first forwarding policy.

[0403] S902a-S905a can refer to the above description of S401, scenario one in S402, and the optional solution of the second network element obtaining the first forwarding policy.

[0404] After S901, if the second network element is a PCF2 network element, process one includes S902b-S905b:

[0405] S902b, the SMF network element invokes the Npcf_TunnelPolicy_Subcribe Request service to send the first information to the PCF2 network element to subscribe to the QoS policy and / or charging policy corresponding to the first information, and the forwarding policy corresponding to the first information. Wherein, the first information includes at least one of the following: application identifier, DNN, or slice information.

[0406] Optionally, the SMF network element can also send first indication information to the PCF2 network element, and the first indication information is used to instruct the PCF2 network element to request the QoS policy and / or charging policy corresponding to the first information from the UDR network element.

[0407] The trigger condition of S902b can refer to the trigger condition of S902a.

[0408] S903b, the PCF2 network element sends the first information to the UDR network element by invoking the Nudr_TunnelPolicy_Subcribe Request service to subscribe to the QoS policy and / or charging policy corresponding to the first information, and the forwarding policy corresponding to the first information.

[0409] Optionally, the PCF2 network element can also send third indication information to the UDR network element, and the third indication information is used to instruct the UDR network element to return the requested policy.

[0410] S904b, the UDR network element sends the first policy and the first forwarding policy to the PCF2 network element by invoking the Nudr_TunnelPolicy_Notify Request service, the first policy is the QoS policy and / or charging policy corresponding to the first information, and the first forwarding policy is the forwarding policy corresponding to the first information. Optionally, the UDR network element can also send the first information when sending the first policy to the PCF2 network element.

[0411] S905b, the PCF2 network element sends the first policy and the first forwarding policy to the SMF network element by invoking the Npcf_TunnelPolicy_Notify Request service. Optionally, the PCF2 network element can also send the first information when sending the first policy and the first forwarding policy to the SMF network element.

[0412] S902b-S905b can refer to the above description of S401, the scenario one in S402, and the optional solution of the second network element obtaining the first forwarding policy.

[0413] Before S902a-S905a or S902b-S905b, the PCF1 network element generates the first policy and the first forwarding policy, and stores them to the UDR network element. For example, the specific process of the PCF1 network element generating the first policy and the first forwarding policy can refer to the process shown in FIG. 6. The PCF1 network element and the PCF2 network element can be the same network element or different network elements.

[0414] After S902a-S905a or S902b-S905b, the flow three includes the following steps:

[0415] S906, the SMF network element selects the UPF1 network element in the first network and the UPF2 network element in the second network based on the first forwarding policy. For example, assuming that the first forwarding policy includes the first DNAI and the second DNAI, the SMF network element can select the UPF1 network element and the UPF2 network element based on the first DNAI and the second DNAI.

[0416] The condition for triggering S906 can be that the SMF network element receives the first policy and the first forwarding policy.

[0417] S907, the SMF network element interacts with the UPF1 network element and the UPF2 network element multiple times to construct a data forwarding tunnel between the first network and the second network (or a data forwarding tunnel between the UPF1 network element and the UPF2 network element, i.e., a first tunnel).

[0418] The SMF network element can generate the first rule and the second rule based on the first policy, and send the first rule to the UPF1 network element and the second rule to the UPF2 network element during the tunnel establishment process. For example, refer to the above description of S707, the SMF network element sending the first rule to the UPF1 network element and the second rule to the UPF2 network element.

[0419] The SMF network element can also generate the third rule and the fourth rule based on the first forwarding policy, and send the third rule to the UPF1 network element and the fourth rule to the UPF2 network element during the tunnel establishment process. The third rule is used for the UPF1 network element to match the data transmitted through the first tunnel, for example, the third rule can include a PDR. The fourth rule is used for the UPF2 network element to match the data transmitted through the first tunnel, for example, the fourth rule can include a PDR.

[0420] The SMF network element can also generate an initial fifth rule and an initial sixth rule based on the first forwarding policy, send the initial fifth rule to the UPF1 network element and the initial sixth rule to the UPF2 network element in the tunnel establishment process, and then update the fifth rule based on the information fed back by the UPF1 network element in the tunnel establishment process, send the updated fifth rule to the UPF1 network element, update the sixth rule based on the information fed back by the UPF2 network element in the tunnel establishment process, and send the updated sixth rule to the UPF2 network element. The fifth rule is used for the UPF1 network element to forward data transmitted through the first tunnel, for example, the fifth rule can include a FAR. The sixth rule is used for the UPF2 network element to forward data transmitted through the first tunnel, for example, the fifth rule can include a FAR.

[0421] Optionally, process three can further include:

[0422] S908, the SMF network element interacts with the CHF network element to generate CDRs for the application service provider. For details, refer to the description of S708 above.

[0423] In the above method embodiment, the first network element is the SMF network element, the second network element is the same PCF network element as the network element that generates the first policy and the first forwarding policy, the first user plane network element is the UPF1 network element, and the second user plane network element is the UPF2 network element. Another possible, non-limiting process of the present application embodiment (hereinafter referred to as process four) can be: the AF network element sends the charging policy and / or QoS policy related information and the forwarding policy related information to the PCF network element, the PCF network element generates the QoS policy and / or charging policy and the forwarding policy, and then interacts with the NRF network element to discover the SMF network element that supports the first information. Further, the PCF network element sends the generated first policy and first forwarding policy to the SMF network element. The SMF network element generates corresponding rules (first rule, second rule, third rule and fourth rule) based on the first policy, and sends the first rule and the third rule to the UPF1 network element and the second rule and the fourth rule to the UPF2 network element in the establishment process of the first tunnel.

[0424] As shown in FIG. 10, the process specifically includes the following steps:

[0425] S1001, the AF network element sends an EDI to a network element in the 5G core network. The AF network element can send the EDI to the NEF network element, and the SMF network element can obtain the EDI from the NEF network element.

[0426] In a possible implementation, the NEF network element can store the received EDI to the UDR network element. After the SMF network element subscribes to the EDI (for example, subscribes to the EDI corresponding to the DNN) from the NEF network element, the NEF network element requests the corresponding EDI from the UDR network element, and after the UDR network element feeds back the corresponding EDI to the NEF network element, the NEF network element sends the EDI to the SMF network element. In another possible implementation, the NEF network element saves the received EDI. After the SMF network element subscribes to the EDI from the NEF network element, the NEF network element finds the corresponding EDI and sends the found EDI to the SMF network element.

[0427] The information included in the EDI can refer to the information introduced above in the related technologies of the present application.

[0428] S1002, the AF network element sends third information to the NEF network element by invoking the Nnef_TunnelPolicy_Create Request service, wherein the third information includes QoS parameters, sponsor information of an application service provider, the first information (the first information includes at least one of the following: Application ID, DNN, or S-NSSAI), and at least one of the following: the first IP address, the second IP address, the first DNAI, or the second DNAI.

[0429] Optionally, the AF network element also sends fourth indication information to the NEF network element.

[0430] S1003, the NEF network element judges whether the AF network element is trustworthy.

[0431] S1004, the NEF network element sends a notification message to the AF network element, the notification message notifying the judgment result. If the judgment result indicates pass, the subsequent steps are continued to be executed. If the judgment result indicates failure, the subsequent steps are stopped to be executed.

[0432] S1005, the NEF network element sends the third information to the PCF network element by invoking the Npcf_TunnelPolicy_Create Requset service.

[0433] Optionally, the NEF network element also sends sixth indication information to the PCF network element, the sixth indication information being used to instruct the PCF network element to generate a QoS policy and / or a charging policy, and a forwarding policy, and send the QoS policy and / or the charging policy, and the forwarding policy to the SMF network element supporting the first information.

[0434] S1006, the PCF network element generates a QoS policy and / or a charging policy according to the QoS parameter and the Sponsor information in the third information, and the generated QoS policy and / or charging policy correspond to the first information in the third information. In addition, the PCF network element generates a forwarding policy according to at least one of the following information in the third information: the first IP address, the second IP address, the first DNAI, or the second DNAI, and the generated forwarding policy corresponds to the first information in the third information. That is, in S1006, the PCF network element generates the first policy and the first forwarding policy.

[0435] S1007, the PCF network element sends the first information to the NRF network element to query an SMF network element supporting the first information.

[0436] S1007 can be triggered by the PCF network element receiving the sixth indication information, or can be triggered after the PCF network element generates the first policy.

[0437] S1008, the NRF network element queries an SMF network element supporting the first information sent by the PCF network element, and sends information (such as an SMF instance or an endpoint address of the SMF network element) of the SMF network element to the PCF network element.

[0438] S1009, after the PCF network element receives the information of the SMF network element from the NRF network element, the PCF network element sends the first policy and the first forwarding policy to the SMF network element by invoking the Nnef_TunnelPolicy_Deliver Request service. Optionally, when the PCF network element sends the first policy and the first forwarding, the PCF network element can also send the first information to the SMF network element.

[0439] S1010, the SMF network element selects a UPF1 network element located in the first network and a UPF2 network element located in the second network based on the first forwarding policy. For example, assuming that the first forwarding policy includes the first DNAI and the second DNAI, the SMF network element can select the UPF1 network element and the UPF2 network element based on the first DNAI and the second DNAI.

[0440] The condition for triggering S1010 to be executed can be that the SMF network element receives the first policy and the first forwarding policy.

[0441] S1011, the SMF network element interacts with the UPF1 network element and the UPF2 network element multiple times to construct a data forwarding tunnel (or a data forwarding tunnel between the UPF1 network element and the UPF2 network element, that is, a first tunnel) between the first network and the second network.

[0442] In this case, the SMF network element can generate relevant rules based on the first policy and send the relevant rules to the UPF1 network element and the UPF2 network element. For details, please refer to the description of S907 above.

[0443] Optionally, procedure three can further include:

[0444] S1012, the SMF network element interacts with the CHF network element, thereby generating a CDR for the application service provider. For details, refer to the description of S708 above.

[0445] In the above method embodiment, it is assumed that the first network element is an SMF network element, the second network element is the same PCF network element as the network element generating the first policy, the first user plane network element is a UPF1 network element, and the second user plane network element is a UPF2 network element. A possible, non-limiting procedure (hereinafter referred to as procedure five) of an embodiment of the present application can be as follows: the AF network element sends the EDI to the NEF network element, the NEF network element splits the EDI, sends the first information to the SMF network element, and sends the first information and the information related to the QoS policy and / or charging policy to the UDR network element. The SMF network element instructs the PCF network element to obtain the information related to the QoS policy and / or charging policy corresponding to the first information from the UDR network element, and generates the QoS policy and / or charging policy corresponding to the first information (i.e., the first policy). After the PCF network element sends the first policy to the SMF network element, the SMF network element generates corresponding rules (first rule and second rule) based on the first policy, and sends the first rule to the UPF1 network element and the second rule to the UPF2 network element in the process of establishing the first tunnel.

[0446] As shown in FIG. 11, procedure five specifically includes the following steps:

[0447] S1101, the AF network element sends the EDI to the NEF network element. The EDI includes the following information: QoS parameters, application service provider information (Sponsor information), and first information (the first information includes at least one of the following: Application ID, DNN, or S-NSSAI).

[0448] Optionally, the EDI further includes at least one of the following information: first IP address, second IP address, first DNAI, or second DNAI.

[0449] Optionally, the EDI can further include one or more other information. For details, refer to the description of the information included in the EDI in the related technology of the present application above.

[0450] Optionally, the AF network element can further send seventh indication information to the NEF network element, and the seventh indication information is used to instruct the NEF network element to split the EDI and send the split information to the corresponding network element.

[0451] S1102, after receiving the EDI, the NEF network element splits the EDI.

[0452] S1103, the first information in the EDI is sent to the SMF network element. Optionally, the NEF network element can also send at least one of the following information in the EDI to the SMF network element: the first IP address, the second IP address, the first DNAI, or the second DNAI.

[0453] Optionally, the NEF network element can also send eighth indication information to the SMF network element, the eighth indication information being used to instruct the SMF network element to request the first policy from the PCF network element.

[0454] S1104, the NEF network element sends the following information in the EDI to the UDR network element: the QoS parameter, the information of the application service provider, and the first information. The UDR network element stores the received information and establishes a correspondence relationship among the QoS parameter, the information of the application service provider, and the first information.

[0455] S1105, after the SMF network element receives the first information in the EDI, the first information is sent to the PCF network element to subscribe to the QoS policy and / or the charging policy corresponding to the first information.

[0456] S1106, the PCF network element sends the first information to the UDR network element to subscribe to the information used to generate the QoS policy and / or the charging policy corresponding to the first information.

[0457] S1107, the UDR network element sends the QoS parameter and the information of the application service provider corresponding to the first information to the PCF network element.

[0458] Optionally, when the UDR network element sends the QoS parameter and the information of the application service provider, the first information can also be sent to the PCF network element.

[0459] S1108, the PCF network element generates the QoS policy and / or the charging policy according to the QoS parameter and the information of the application service provider from the UDR network element. The QoS policy and / or the charging policy generated by the PCF network element corresponds to the first information, that is, the PCF network element generates the first policy.

[0460] S1109, the PCF network element sends the first policy to the first network element. Optionally, when the PCF network element sends the first policy, the first information can also be sent together.

[0461] S1110, the SMF network element selects the UPF1 network element located in the first network and the UPF2 network element located in the second network based on the first DNAI and the second DNAI in the EDI.

[0462] The condition for triggering the execution of S1109 can be that the SMF network element receives the first policy.

[0463] S1111, the SMF network element interacts with the UPF1 network element and the UPF2 network element multiple times to construct a data forwarding tunnel between the first network and the second network (or referred to as a data forwarding tunnel between the UPF1 network element and the UPF2 network element, i.e., a first tunnel).

[0464] The SMF network element can generate the first rule and the second rule based on the first policy, and send the first rule to the UPF1 network element and the second rule to the UPF2 network element in the tunnel establishment process. For details, refer to the description of S707 above.

[0465] Optionally, process five can further include:

[0466] S1112, the SMF network element interacts with the CHF network element to generate a CDR for the application service provider. For details, refer to the description of S708 above.

[0467] The above mainly introduces the scheme provided by the embodiments of the application from the perspective of the interaction between the network elements. Correspondingly, the embodiments of the application also provide a communication device for implementing the above methods. The communication device can be each network element in the above method embodiments, such as the first network element, the second network element, the intermediate network element, etc., or a device containing the network elements in the above method embodiments, or a component that can be used in the network elements in the above method embodiments.

[0468] It can be understood that the communication device contains the hardware structure and / or software module corresponding to each function in order to realize the above functions. Those skilled in the art should easily realize that the units and algorithm steps of each example described in combination with the embodiments disclosed in the present application can be realized in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a certain function is realized in the form of hardware or computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional technicians can use different methods to realize the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of the present application.

[0469] The embodiments of the present application can divide the function modules of the communication device according to the above method embodiments, for example, each function module can be divided according to each function, or two or more functions can be integrated in one processing module. The above integrated module can be realized in the form of hardware or software function module. It should be noted that the division of modules in the embodiments of the present application is illustrative, and is only a logical function division. Actual implementation can have another division manner.

[0470] FIG. 12 shows a structural diagram of a communication apparatus 1200. The communication apparatus 1200 includes a transceiver module 1201 and a processing module 1202. The processing module 1202, which can also be referred to as a processing unit 1202, is configured to implement a processing function. The transceiver module 1201, which can also be referred to as a transceiver unit 1201, is configured to implement a receiving and transmitting function. Optionally, the communication apparatus 1200 can further include a storage module 1203.

[0471] For example, the communication apparatus 1200 is the first network element in the above method embodiments, in a possible design, the transceiver module 1201 is configured to receive a first policy from a second network element. The processing module 1202 is configured to generate a first rule and a second rule according to the first policy. The transceiver module 1201 is configured to send the first rule to a first user plane network element and send the second rule to a second user plane network element. The first rule is used for the first user plane network element to perform QoS guarantee and / or charging on data transmitted through a first tunnel. The second rule is used for the second user plane network element to perform QoS guarantee and / or charging on data transmitted through the first tunnel. The first tunnel is a data transmission tunnel between a first network and a second network. The first user plane network element is located in the first network, and the second user plane network element is located in the second network.

[0472] For example, the communication apparatus 1200 is the second network element in the above method embodiments, in a possible design, the processing module 1202 is configured to obtain a first policy, and the transceiver module 1201 is configured to send the first policy to a first network element. The first policy is used to determine a first rule and a second rule. The first rule is used for a first user plane network element to perform QoS guarantee and / or charging on data transmitted through a first tunnel. The second rule is used for a second user plane network element to perform QoS guarantee and / or charging on data transmitted through the first tunnel. The first tunnel is a data transmission tunnel between a first network and a second network. The first user plane network element is located in the first network, and the second user plane network element is located in the second network.

[0473] In a possible design, the transceiver module 1201 is configured to receive, from the fourth network element, EAS deployment information, where the EAS deployment information includes a QoS parameter, information of an application service provider, and first information. The first information includes at least one of the following: an application identifier, a DNN, or slice information. The transceiver module 1201 is further configured to send, to the eighth network element, the QoS parameter, the information of the application service provider, and the first information, and to send, to the first network element, the first information. The QoS parameter and the information of the application service provider are used to generate a first policy, and the first policy is used to generate a first rule and a second rule. The first rule and the second rule are used for QoS guarantee and / or charging on data transmitted through a first tunnel. The first tunnel is a data transmission tunnel between the first network and the second network.

[0474] All related content of each step involved in the method embodiments described above can be referred to the function description of the corresponding functional module, which will not be repeated here.

[0475] Optionally, in the communication apparatus shown in FIG. 12, the names of the modules can also be different from those shown in FIG. 12. For example, the transceiver module can also be referred to as a communication module or a communication unit.

[0476] When each unit in FIG. 12 is implemented in the form of a software functional module and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on such an understanding, the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present disclosure essentially, or the part that contributes to the prior art, or all or a part of the technical solutions can be embodied in the form of a software product. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions for causing a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) or a processor to perform all or part of the steps of the methods described in the various embodiments of the present disclosure. The storage medium storing the computer software product includes: a U disk, a mobile hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk, or an optical disk, and other various media that can store program codes.

[0477] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the communication apparatus 1200 is presented in the form of dividing various functional modules in an integrated manner. The "module" here can refer to an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a circuit, a processor and a memory executing one or more software or firmware programs, an integrated logic circuit, and / or other devices that can provide the above functions.

[0478] In one simple embodiment, the skilled in the art can conceive that the communication device 1200 can take the form of the communication device 1300 shown in Figure 13.

[0479] As shown in Figure 13, the communication device 1300 comprises one or more processors 1301, a communication line 1302, and at least one communication interface 1304 (only exemplary in Figure 13 to include the communication interface 1304 and one processor 1301 for illustration), and optionally a memory 1303.

[0480] The processor 1301 can be a general central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, an ASIC, or one or more integrated circuits used to control the execution of programs of the present application.

[0481] The communication line 1302 can comprise a path for connecting different components.

[0482] The communication interface 1304 can be a transceiver module for communicating with other devices or communication networks, such as Ethernet, RAN, terminal, wireless local area networks (WLAN), etc. For example, the transceiver module can be a transceiver, a transceiver-like device, or some other device capable of communicating with a modem, a network, a device, etc. Alternatively, the communication interface 1304 can be a transceiver circuit or input / output interface within the processor 1301 to enable signal input and output of the processor.

[0483] The memory 1303 can be a device with storage function. For example, it can be a read-only memory (ROM) or other type of static storage device that can store static information and instructions, a random access memory (RAM) or other type of dynamic storage device that can store information and instructions, an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disk storage, a magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium capable of carrying or storing desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and accessible by a computer, but not limited to. The memory can exist independently and be connected to the processor through the communication line 1302. The memory can also be integrated with the processor.

[0484] The memory 1303 is configured to store computer-executable instructions for implementing the solutions of the present application, and the processor 1301 is configured to execute the computer-executable instructions stored in the memory 1303. The processor 1301 is configured to execute the computer-executable instructions stored in the memory 1303, so as to implement the communication method provided in the embodiments of the present application.

[0485] Alternatively, in the embodiments of the present application, the processor 1301 can execute the functions related to processing in the communication method provided in the embodiments of the present application, and the communication interface 1304 is responsible for communication with other devices or communication networks, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0486] Alternatively, in the embodiments of the present application, the computer-executable instructions can also be referred to as application program codes, which are not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0487] In a specific implementation, as an embodiment, the processor 1301 can include one or more CPUs, for example, CPU0 and CPU1 in FIG. 13.

[0488] In a specific implementation, as an embodiment, the communication device 1300 can include multiple processors, for example, the processor 1301 and the processor 1307 in FIG. 13. Each of the processors can be a single-core processor or a multi-core processor. The processor herein can include, but is not limited to, at least one of the following: CPU, microprocessor, digital signal processor (DSP), microcontroller unit (MCU), or artificial intelligence processor, and various computing devices running software, each of which can include one or more cores for executing software instructions to perform calculations or processing.

[0489] In a specific implementation, as an embodiment, the communication device 1200 can further include an output device 1305 and an input device 1306. The output device 1305 communicates with the processor 1301 and can display information in various ways. For example, the output device 1305 can be a liquid crystal display (LCD), a light emitting diode (LED) display device, a cathode ray tube (CRT) display device, or a projector, etc. The input device 1306 communicates with the processor 1301 and can receive user input in various ways. For example, the input device 1306 can be a mouse, a keyboard, a touch screen device, a sensing device, etc.

[0490] The communication device 1300 described above can also be referred to as a communication apparatus, which can be a general-purpose device or a special-purpose device. For example, the communication device 1300 can be the first network element, the second network element, the intermediate network element, or a device having a similar structure in FIG. 13. Embodiments of the present application do not limit the type of the communication device 1300.

[0491] In addition, the constituent structure shown in FIG. 13 does not constitute a limitation on the communication device, and the communication device 1300 can include more or fewer components than those shown in FIG. 13, or combine certain components, or have a different arrangement of components.

[0492] Optionally, the functions / implementation procedures of the transceiver module 1201 and the processing module 1202 in FIG. 12 can be implemented by the processor 1301 in the communication device 1300 shown in FIG. 13 invoking computer-executable instructions stored in the memory 1303. Alternatively, the functions / implementation procedures of the processing module 1202 in FIG. 12 can be implemented by the processor 1301 in the communication device 1300 shown in FIG. 13 invoking computer-executable instructions stored in the memory 1303, and the functions / implementation procedures of the transceiver module 1201 in FIG. 12 can be implemented by the communication interface 1304 in the communication device 1300 shown in FIG. 13.

[0493] It should be understood that one or more of the above modules or units can be implemented in software, hardware, or a combination of both. When any of the above modules or units is implemented in software, the software exists in the form of computer program instructions and is stored in a memory, and a processor can be used to execute the program instructions and implement the above method flow. The processor can be built in a SoC or an ASIC, or be a separate semiconductor chip. The processor further includes a core for executing software instructions to perform operations or processing, and can further include necessary hardware accelerators, such as an FPGA, a programmable logic device (PLD), or a logic circuit implementing a special logic operation.

[0494] When any of the above modules or units is implemented in hardware, the hardware can be any one or any combination of a CPU, a microprocessor, a DSP chip, an MCU, an artificial intelligence processor, an ASIC, a SoC, an FPGA, a PLD, a special-purpose digital circuit, a hardware accelerator, or a non-integrated discrete device, which can run necessary software or be independent of software to execute the above method flow.

[0495] Optionally, the embodiment of the present application further provides a communication device (for example, the communication device can be a chip or a chip system), which comprises a processor, and is used for implementing the method in any of the method embodiments. In a possible design, the communication device further comprises a memory. The memory is used for storing necessary program instructions and data, and the processor can invoke the program code stored in the memory to instruct the communication device to execute the method in any of the method embodiments. Of course, the memory can also not be in the communication device. When the communication device is a chip system, the communication device can be composed of a chip, or can comprise a chip and other discrete devices, and the embodiment of the present application does not make a specific limitation in this regard.

[0496] Optionally, the embodiment of the present application further provides a computer readable storage medium, which stores computer programs or instructions, and when the computer programs or instructions run on the communication device, the communication device can execute the method in any of the method embodiments or any implementation manner thereof.

[0497] Optionally, the embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program product, which stores computer programs or instructions, and when the computer programs or instructions run on the communication device, the communication device can execute the method in any of the method embodiments or any implementation manner thereof.

[0498] Optionally, the embodiment of the present application further provides a communication system, which comprises the first network element in the method embodiment and the second network element in the method embodiment. In a possible design, the communication system further comprises the intermediate network element in the method embodiment.

[0499] In the above embodiments, implementation can be achieved, in whole or in part, through software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software programs, implementation can be, in whole or in part, in the form of a computer program product. This computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the flow or function according to the embodiments of this application is generated. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, computer instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another via wired (e.g., coaxial cable, fiber optic, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) means. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium accessible to a computer or a data storage device containing one or more servers, data centers, etc., that can be integrated with the medium. The available media can be magnetic media (e.g., floppy disks, hard disks, magnetic tapes), optical media (e.g., DVDs), or semiconductor media (e.g., solid-state drives (SSDs)).

[0500] Although this application has been described herein in conjunction with various embodiments, those skilled in the art, by reviewing the accompanying drawings, the disclosure, and the appended claims, will understand and implement other variations of the disclosed embodiments in carrying out the claimed application. In the claims, the word "comprising" does not exclude other components or steps, and "a" or "an" does not exclude multiple instances. A single processor or other unit can implement several functions listed in the claims. While different dependent claims may recite certain measures, this does not mean that these measures cannot be combined to produce good results.

[0501] Although this application has been described in conjunction with specific features and embodiments, it is obvious that various modifications and combinations can be made thereto without departing from the scope of this application. Accordingly, this specification and drawings are merely exemplary illustrations of the application as defined by the appended claims, and are considered to cover any and all modifications, variations, combinations, or equivalents within the scope of this application. Clearly, those skilled in the art can make various alterations and modifications to this application without departing from its scope. Thus, if such modifications and modifications fall within the scope of the claims and their equivalents, this application is also intended to include such modifications and modifications.

Claims

1. A communication method characterized by comprising: The method comprises: receiving a first policy from a second network element, the first policy being used to generate a first rule and a second rule; sending the first rule to a first user plane network element, the first rule being used for the first user plane network element to perform QoS assurance and / or charging on data transmitted through a first tunnel; sending the second rule to a second user plane network element, the second rule being used for the second user plane network element to perform QoS assurance and / or charging on data transmitted through the first tunnel; wherein the first tunnel is a data transmission tunnel between a first network and a second network, the first user plane network element is located in the first network, and the second user plane network element is located in the second network.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, The first rule comprises a first usage reporting rule (URR) and / or a first QoS enforcement rule (QER), and the second rule comprises a second URR and / or a second QER.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The receiving of the first policy from the second network element comprises: sending a first subscription message to the second network element, the first subscription message being used to subscribe to a QoS policy and / or a charging policy corresponding to first information, the first information comprising at least one of the following: an application identifier, a data network name (DNN), or slice information; receiving the first policy from the second network element, the first policy being the QoS policy and / or the charging policy corresponding to the first information.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein: the first subscription message comprises the first information; and / or the receiving of the first policy from the second network element comprises: receiving the first information from the second network element, and the first policy. The first subscription message further comprises first indication information, the first indication information being used to indicate that the second network element acquires the QoS policy and / or the charging policy corresponding to the first information, or the first indication information being used to indicate that the second network element requests the QoS policy and / or the charging policy corresponding to the first information from a third network element.

5. The method according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that, The first subscription message is further used to subscribe to a forwarding policy corresponding to the first information; and the method further comprises:

6. The method according to any one of claims 3-5, characterized in that, receiving a first forwarding policy from the second network element, the first forwarding policy being the forwarding policy corresponding to the first information. The receiving of the first policy from the second network element comprises receiving the first policy and a first forwarding policy from the second network element, wherein the first forwarding policy is the forwarding policy corresponding to the first information.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that, The first forwarding policy is used to generate a third rule and a fourth rule; and the method further comprises:

8. The method according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that, sending the third rule to the first user plane network element, and sending the fourth rule to the second user plane network element; the third rule is used for the first user plane network element to perform matching on data transmitted through the first tunnel; and the fourth rule is used for the second user plane network element to perform matching on data transmitted through the first tunnel. The sending of the first subscription message to the second network element comprises:

9. The method according to any one of claims 3-6, characterized in that, ​ In a case where it is determined, according to the edge application service (EAS) deployment information, that the first tunnel needs to be established, the first subscription message is sent; wherein the determining, according to the EAS deployment information, that the first tunnel needs to be established comprises: determining, according to the received EAS deployment information, that the first tunnel needs to be established; In a process of discovering an EAS, determining, according to EAS deployment information, that the first tunnel needs to be established; or In a process of establishing a session, determining, according to EAS deployment information, that the first tunnel needs to be established.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein, The EAS deployment information comprises at least one of the following: a first network interconnection protocol (IP) address, a second IP address, a first data network access identifier (DNAI), a second DNAI, an application identifier, a data network name (DNN), slice information, or second indication information; The first IP address is a source address of data transmitted to the second network through the first tunnel or a destination address of data transmitted to the first network through the first tunnel, the second IP address is a destination address of data transmitted to the second network through the first tunnel or a source address of data transmitted to the first network through the first tunnel, the first DNAI is used to identify the first network, the second DNAI is used to identify the second network, and the second indication information is used to indicate establishment of a data transmission tunnel between the first network and the second network.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that, The method further comprises: sending second information to a fifth network element, the second information being used by the fifth network element to generate a charging record for an application service provider.

12. A communication method characterized by comprising: The communication method comprises: obtaining a first policy; sending the first policy to a first network element; the first policy being used to determine a first rule and a second rule, the first rule being used by a first user plane network element to provide quality of service (QoS) guarantee and / or charging for data transmitted through a first tunnel, and the second rule being used by a second user plane network element to provide QoS guarantee and / or charging for data transmitted through the first tunnel; wherein the first tunnel is a data transmission tunnel between a first network and a second network, the first user plane network element is located in the first network, and the second user plane network element is located in the second network.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein, The sending of the first policy to the first network element comprises: receiving a first subscription message from the first network element, the first subscription message being used to subscribe to a QoS policy and / or a charging policy corresponding to first information; the first information comprising at least one of the following: an application identifier, a data network name (DNN), or slice information; sending the first policy to the first network element, the first policy being the QoS policy and / or the charging policy corresponding to the first information.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein, The first subscription message comprises the first information; and / or, The sending of the first policy to the first network element comprises: sending the first information and the first policy to the first network element.

15. The method according to any one of claims 12-14, characterized in that, The obtaining of the first policy comprises: sending a second subscription message to a third network element, the second subscription message being used to subscribe to a QoS policy and / or a charging policy corresponding to the first information, the first information comprising at least one of the following: an application identifier, a DNN, or slice information; receiving the first policy from the third network element, the first policy being the QoS policy and / or the charging policy corresponding to the first information.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein, The method further comprises: receiving first indication information from the first network element, the first indication information being used to indicate that a QoS policy and / or a charging policy is requested from a third network element.

17. The method according to claim 15 or 16, characterized in that, The second subscription message further comprises third indication information, the third indication information being used to indicate that the third network element sends the QoS policy and / or the charging policy.

18. The method of any of claims 15-17, wherein The second subscription message comprises the first information. and / or receiving the first policy from the third network element comprises: receiving the first information and the first policy from the third network element.

19. The method according to any one of claims 12-18, characterized in that, The method further comprises, before sending the first policy to the first network element: receiving third information from a fourth network element, the third information comprising a QoS parameter, information of an application service provider, and the first information, wherein the first information comprises at least one of the following: an application identifier, a DNN, or slice information, and the third information is used to generate the first policy.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein, The method further comprises: sending the third information to a sixth network element, the third information being used by the sixth network element to generate the first policy.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein, The method further comprises: determining whether the fourth network element is trustworthy according to the third information; The sending of the third information to the sixth network element comprises: sending the third information to the sixth network element in a case where the fourth network element is determined to be trustworthy.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein, The method further comprises: receiving fourth indication information from the fourth network element, the fourth indication information being used to indicate that it is determined whether the fourth network element is trustworthy, and the third information is forwarded to the sixth network element in a case where the fourth network element is determined to be trustworthy.

23. The method of any one of claims 20-22, wherein, The method further comprises: sending fifth indication information to the sixth network element, the fifth indication information being used to indicate that the sixth network element generates a QoS policy and / or a charging policy, and stores the QoS policy and / or the charging policy to a third network element; The obtaining of the first policy comprises: obtaining the first policy from the third network element.

24. The method of claim 19, wherein, The method further comprises generating the first policy according to the third information.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein, The method further comprises: storing the first policy to a third network element; The obtaining of the first policy comprises: obtaining the first policy from the third network element.

26. The method of claim 24, wherein, The method further comprises: sending the first information to a seventh network element; receiving information of the first network element from the seventh network element, the first network element supporting the first information; The sending of the first policy to the first network element comprises: sending the first policy to the first network element according to the information of the first network element.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein, The method further comprises: receive sixth indication information, the sixth indication information being used for indicating generation of a QoS policy and / or a charging policy, and sending to a session management network element supporting the QoS policy and / or the charging policy the first information.

28. The method of claim 13 or 14, wherein, The first subscription message is also used for subscribing to a forwarding policy corresponding to the first information; and the method further comprises: obtaining a first forwarding policy, the first forwarding policy being a forwarding policy corresponding to the first information; The method further comprises: sending the first policy and the first forwarding policy to the first network element.

29. The method of claim 26 or 27, wherein, The third information further comprises at least one of a first Internet Protocol (IP) address, a second IP address, a first Data Network Access Identifier (DNAI), or a second DNAI; the first IP address is a destination address or a source address of data transmitted through the first tunnel, the second IP address is a destination address or a source address of data transmitted through the first tunnel, the first DNAI is used for identifying the first network, and the second DNAI is used for identifying the second network. The method further comprises: generating a first forwarding policy according to the third information; The method further comprises: sending the first policy and the first forwarding policy to the first network element according to the information of the first network element.

30. The method of claim 28 or 29, wherein, The first forwarding policy is used for generating a third rule and a fourth rule; the third rule is used for the first user plane network element to match data transmitted through the first tunnel; and the fourth rule is used for the second user plane network element to match data transmitted through the first tunnel.

31. The method of claim 13 or 14, wherein, Before sending the first policy to the first network element, the method further comprises: sending the first information to an eighth network element; receiving, from the eighth network element, QoS parameters corresponding to the first information and information of an application service provider; The method further comprises: The second network element generates the first policy according to the QoS parameters corresponding to the first information and the information of the application service provider.

32. A method of communication, comprising: The method comprises: receiving, from a fourth network element, edge application service (EAS) deployment information; the EAS deployment information comprises quality of service (QoS) parameters, information of an application service provider, and first information; the first information comprises at least one of an application identifier, a data network name (DNN), or slice information; sending, to an eighth network element, the QoS parameters, the information of the application service provider, and the first information; the QoS parameters and the information of the application service provider are used for generating a first policy, the first policy is used for generating a first rule and a second rule, and the first rule and the second rule are used for QoS guarantee and / or charging for data transmitted through a first tunnel; the first tunnel is a data transmission tunnel between a first network and a second network; sending the first information to a first network element.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein, The EAS deployment information further comprises at least one of the following: a first network interconnection protocol (IP) address, a second IP address, a first data network access identifier (DNAI), or a second DNAI. The method further comprises: sending at least one of the first IP address, the second IP address, the first DNAI, or the second DNAI to the first network element; wherein the first IP address is a source address of data transmitted to the second network via the first tunnel or a destination address of data transmitted to the first network via the first tunnel, the second IP address is a destination address of data transmitted to the second network via the first tunnel or a source address of data transmitted to the first network via the first tunnel, the first DNAI is used to identify the first network, and the second DNAI is used to identify the second network.

34. The method of claim 32 or 33, wherein, The method further comprises: sending eighth indication information to the first network element, the eighth indication information being used to instruct the first network element to request a QoS policy and / or a charging policy from a second network element.

35. A communications device, characterized by The communication apparatus comprises modules or units for implementing the method of any of claims 1-34.

36. The device of claim 35, wherein, The communication apparatus is a chip or a chip system.

37. A communications device, characterized by The communication apparatus comprises a processor and an interface circuit, the interface circuit being used to communicate with apparatuses other than the communication apparatus, and the processor being used to execute instructions stored in a memory; when the instructions are executed by the processor, the communication apparatus performs the method of any of claims 1-34.

38. The device of claim 37, wherein, The communication apparatus is a chip or a chip system.

39. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, An instruction is stored thereon, and when the instruction is executed by a computer, the method of any of claims 1-34 is performed.

40. A computer program product, characterised in that, An instruction is stored thereon, and when the instruction is executed by a computer, the method of any of claims 1-34 is performed.

41. A communication system, characterized by The communication system comprises a first network element and a second network element; wherein the first network element is used to implement the method of any of claims 1-11, and the second network element is used to implement the method of any of claims 12-31.

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