Method for selecting user plane function network element, and related device

Abstract

The embodiments of the present application relate to the field of communications. Provided are a method for selecting a user plane function network element, and a related device. The method comprises: first, acquiring identification information of a first radio access network or DIP instance static feature information of a DIP instance, the access to which can be supported by the first radio access network; then, on the basis of the identification information of the first radio access network or the DIP instance static feature information of the first radio access network, determining DIP instance information of the DIP instance, the access to which can be supported by the first radio access network; and finally, on the basis of the DIP instance information, determining a first user plane function network element that supports DIP transmission with the first radio access network. Since DIP instance information is taken into consideration for selection of a user plane function network element, it is ensured that DIP transmission can be performed reliably between a first radio access network and a first user plane function network element, thereby effectively guaranteeing deterministic requirements of service flows.

Description

User plane network element selection method and related device

[0001] The present application claims priority from the Chinese patent application No. 202410846322.1 filed on June 26, 2024, and entitled "User plane network element selection method and related device", the content of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] Embodiments of the present application relate to the field of communication, in particular to a user plane network element selection method and related device. BACKGROUND

[0003] Deterministic Internet Protocol (DIP) is a deterministic networking (DetNet) technology architecture, which introduces a periodic scheduling mechanism for forwarding in the data plane, and proposes an efficient path planning and resource allocation algorithm in the control plane, aiming to realize a large-scale scalable end-to-end deterministic low-latency network system.

[0004] Referring to FIG. 1A, FIG. 1A is a structure diagram of a 5GS transmission network supporting TSN according to an embodiment of the present application; when a 5G system (5GS) supports interworking with a time-sensitive network (TSN) deployed in a transmission network, in order to support the determinism of the 5GS transmission network, the radio access network (RAN) and the user plane (UPF) network element can be respectively taken as end users in the deterministic protocol, i.e., the talker and listener defined in the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.1Q protocol for TSN.

[0005] However, when the transmission network (TN) in the mobile communication system supports the DIP scenario, the mobile communication system, taking the 5GS as an example, replaces the TSN transmission network in FIG. 1A with a DIP transmission network, and cannot guarantee the DIP transmission between the RAN and the UPF, and thus cannot reliably guarantee the determinism requirement of the service flow. SUMMARY

[0006] The application provides a user plane network element selection method and related equipment, which can reliably guarantee DIP transmission between a radio access network and a user plane network element and guarantee the deterministic requirements of a service flow.

[0007] In a first aspect, a user plane network element selection method is provided, which can be executed by a third network element or a chip in the third network element.

[0008] The user plane network element selection method comprises the following steps: obtaining identification information of a first radio access network or DIP instance static characteristic information of a deterministic internet protocol (DIP) instance that can be supported by the first radio access network for access; determining DIP instance information of the DIP instance that can be supported by the first radio access network for access based on the identification information of the first radio access network or the DIP instance static characteristic information of the first radio access network; and determining a first user plane network element that supports DIP transmission with the first radio access network based on the DIP instance information.

[0009] The DIP instance is a subnetwork of a DIP transmission network. The DIP instance information refers to related information of the DIP instance, and the DIP instance information comprises the DIP instance static characteristic information. The DIP instance static characteristic information refers to information in the DIP instance information that does not need to be frequently updated.

[0010] In this scheme, the DIP instance information of the DIP instance that can be supported by the first radio access network for access is determined based on the identification information of the first radio access network or the DIP instance static characteristic information of the first radio access network. The first user plane network element that supports DIP transmission with the first radio access network is determined based on the DIP instance information. Since the user plane network element selection is performed based on the DIP instance information, the DIP transmission between the first radio access network and the first user plane network element can be reliably performed, and the deterministic requirements of the service flow are effectively guaranteed.

[0011] In a possible implementation of the first aspect, the determination of the DIP instance information of the DIP instance that can be supported by the first radio access network for access based on the identification information of the first radio access network comprises the following steps:

[0012] sending a first information obtaining request to the first network element, the first information obtaining request comprising identification information of the first radio access network; receiving a first information obtaining response sent by the first network element, the first information obtaining response comprising identification information of a user plane network element accessing a same DIP instance as the first radio access network and static characteristic information of a DIP instance corresponding to the user plane network element; sending a second information obtaining request to a storage network element, the second information obtaining request comprising the static characteristic information of the DIP instance corresponding to the user plane network element; and receiving a second information obtaining response sent by the storage network element, the second information obtaining response comprising DIP instance information corresponding to the static characteristic information of the DIP instance corresponding to the user plane network element.

[0013] In the scheme, the identification information of the user plane network element accessing a same DIP instance as the first radio access network and the static characteristic information of the DIP instance corresponding to the user plane network element are obtained from the first network element based on the identification information of the first radio access network, and the DIP instance information corresponding to the static characteristic information of the DIP instance is obtained from the storage network element based on the static characteristic information of the DIP instance, so that the DIP instance information can be ensured to be the DIP instance information of the DIP instance that the first radio access network can support to access.

[0014] In a possible implementation of the first aspect, the first network element stores identification information of at least one user plane network element and static characteristic information of a DIP instance corresponding to the user plane network element; and / or the first network element stores identification information of at least one radio access network and static characteristic information of a DIP instance corresponding to the radio access network.

[0015] In the scheme, the user plane network element and / or the radio access network stores or registers the identification information of itself and the static characteristic information of the DIP instance that the user plane network element and / or the radio access network supports to access in the first network element, so that the identification information of the user plane network element accessing a same DIP instance as the first radio access network and the static characteristic information of the DIP instance corresponding to the user plane network element can be obtained from the first network element based on the identification information of the first radio access network.

[0016] In a possible implementation of the first aspect, the DIP instance information of the DIP instance that the first radio access network can support to access is determined based on the static characteristic information of the DIP instance of the first radio access network, and specifically includes the following steps: sending a third information obtaining request to the storage network element, the third information obtaining request comprising the static characteristic information of the DIP instance of the first radio access network; and receiving a third information obtaining response sent by the storage network element, the third information obtaining response comprising DIP instance information corresponding to the static characteristic information of the DIP instance of the first radio access network.

[0017] In the scheme, the DIP instance static characteristic information of the first radio access network based DIP instance can be obtained from a storage network element, and the DIP instance information corresponding to the DIP instance static characteristic information can be obtained.

[0018] In a possible implementation of the first aspect, the method further includes the following steps: determining the first DIP instance based on the DIP instance information; and requesting the first network element to discover the first user plane network element corresponding to the first DIP instance. The method further includes the following steps: receiving the identification information of the first user plane network element sent by the first network element; and determining the first user plane network element based on the identification information of the first user plane network element.

[0019] In the scheme, the first DIP instance for DIP transmission is determined based on the DIP instance information, and the first user plane network element corresponding to the first DIP instance is requested to be discovered from the first network element. When the identification information of the first user plane network element returned by the first network element is received, the first user plane network element can be determined based on the identification information.

[0020] In a possible implementation of the first aspect, the method further includes the following steps: receiving the DIP instance static characteristic information of the first radio access network sent by the second network element. In the scheme, the DIP instance static characteristic information of the first radio access network can be obtained from the second network element, and the first network element does not need to store the DIP instance static characteristic information of the first radio access network.

[0021] In a possible implementation of the first aspect, the second network element stores the identification information of at least one radio access network and the DIP instance static characteristic information corresponding to the radio access network.

[0022] In the scheme, the radio access network stores or registers the identification information of the radio access network and the DIP instance static characteristic information of the DIP instance supported by the radio access network in the second network element, so that the third network element can obtain the DIP instance static characteristic information of the first radio access network from the second network element.

[0023] In a possible implementation of the first aspect, the DIP instance static characteristic information includes the identification information of the DIP instance. For example, the unique identifier of the DIP instance, i.e., the identification information of the DIP instance, can be composed of one or more of numbers, capital letters, small letters, or special characters.

[0024] In a possible implementation of the first aspect, the DIP instance static characteristic information further includes correspondence between identification information of a radio access network corresponding to the DIP instance and identification information of a user plane network element corresponding to the DIP instance. The identification information of the user plane network element that accesses the same DIP instance as the first radio access network is determined based on the identification information of the first radio access network and the correspondence.

[0025] In this solution, when the DIP instance static characteristic information further includes correspondence between identification information of a radio access network corresponding to the DIP instance and identification information of a user plane network element corresponding to the DIP instance, the first network element or the second network element does not need to store the DIP instance static characteristic information corresponding to the radio access network.

[0026] In a possible implementation of the first aspect, the user plane network element selection method further includes the following steps: receiving a user plane network element modification request sent by a trigger network element, the user plane network element modification request including DIP instance information currently bound by a service flow and DIP instance information expected to be bound by the service flow. Determining whether to modify the user plane network element of the service flow based on the DIP instance information currently bound by the service flow and the DIP instance information expected to be bound by the service flow. When it is determined to modify the user plane network element of the service flow, re-determining the user plane network element of the service flow, and sending a modification confirmation response to the trigger network element. When it is determined not to modify the user plane network element of the service flow, sending a modification request response to the trigger network element.

[0027] In this solution, when the DIP instance of the service flow needs to be modified, the third network element determines whether to modify the user plane network element of the service flow based on the DIP instance information currently bound by the service flow and the DIP instance information expected to be bound by the service flow, to meet the requirement of user plane network element modification.

[0028] In the second aspect, the application further provides a user plane network element selection method, which is applied to a communication system. The communication system includes a first radio access network, a first network element, a third network element, and a storage network element.

[0029] The user plane network element selection method comprises the following steps: the third network element acquires the identification information of the first radio access network. The third network element sends a first information acquisition request to the first network element, the first information acquisition request comprising the identification information of the first radio access network. The first network element sends a first information acquisition response to the third network element, the first information acquisition response comprising the identification information of the user plane network element accessing the same DIP instance as the first radio access network and the DIP instance static characteristic information corresponding to the user plane network element, the DIP instance being a subnetwork of the DIP transport network. The third network element sends a second information acquisition request to the storage network element, the second information acquisition request comprising the DIP instance static characteristic information corresponding to the user plane network element. The storage network element sends a second information acquisition response to the third network element, the second information acquisition response comprising the DIP instance information corresponding to the DIP instance static characteristic information corresponding to the user plane network element. The third network element determines the first user plane network element supporting DIP transmission with the first radio access network based on the DIP instance information.

[0030] In the present scheme, the third network element determines the identification information of the user plane network element accessing the same DIP instance as the first radio access network and the DIP instance static characteristic information corresponding to the user plane network element based on the identification information of the first radio access network. The third network element then determines the DIP instance information based on the DIP instance static characteristic information. Finally, the third network element determines the first user plane network element supporting DIP transmission with the first radio access network based on the DIP instance information. Since the DIP instance information is considered in the selection of the user plane network element, it is ensured that the DIP transmission between the first radio access network and the first user plane network element can be reliably performed, effectively guaranteeing the deterministic requirement of the service flow.

[0031] In a third aspect, the present application further provides a communication system, comprising a first radio access network, a first network element, a third network element and a storage network element.

[0032] The third network element is configured to obtain the identification information of the first radio access network. The third network element is further configured to send a first information obtaining request to the first network element, the first information obtaining request comprising the identification information of the first radio access network. The first network element is configured to send a first information obtaining response to the third network element, the first information obtaining response comprising the identification information of the user plane network element accessing the same DIP instance as the first radio access network and the DIP instance static characteristic information corresponding to the user plane network element. The DIP instance is a subnetwork of the DIP transport network. The third network element is further configured to send a second information obtaining request to the storage network element, the second information obtaining request comprising the DIP instance static characteristic information corresponding to the user plane network element. The storage network element is configured to send a second information obtaining response to the third network element, the second information obtaining response comprising the DIP instance information corresponding to the DIP instance static characteristic information corresponding to the user plane network element. The third network element is further configured to determine the first user plane network element supporting the DIP transmission with the first radio access network based on the DIP instance information.

[0033] In a fourth aspect, the present application further provides a user plane network element selection method, which is applied to a communication system. The communication system comprises a first radio access network, a third network element and a storage network element.

[0034] The user plane network element selection method comprises the following steps: the third network element obtains the DIP instance static characteristic information of the DIP instance that the first radio access network can support to access, the DIP instance being a subnetwork of the DIP transport network. The third network element sends a third information obtaining request to the storage network element, the third information obtaining request comprising the DIP instance static characteristic information of the first radio access network. The storage network element sends a third information obtaining response to the third network element, the third information obtaining response comprising the DIP instance information corresponding to the DIP instance static characteristic information of the first radio access network. The third network element determines the first user plane network element supporting the DIP transmission with the first radio access network based on the DIP instance information.

[0035] In the present solution, the third network element obtains the DIP instance information based on the DIP instance static characteristic information of the first radio access network, and determines the first user plane network element supporting the DIP transmission with the first radio access network based on the DIP instance information. Since the DIP instance information is considered in the selection of the user plane network element, it is ensured that the DIP transmission between the first radio access network and the first user plane network element can be reliably performed, and the deterministic requirement of the service flow is effectively guaranteed.

[0036] In a fifth aspect, the present application further provides a communication system, which comprises a first radio access network, a third network element and a storage network element.

[0037] The third network element is configured to acquire DIP instance static characteristic information of a DIP instance accessible by the first radio access network, the DIP instance being a subnetwork of the DIP transport network. The third network element is further configured to send a third information acquisition request to the storage network element, the third information acquisition request including the DIP instance static characteristic information of the first radio access network. The storage network element is configured to send a third information acquisition response to the third network element, the third information acquisition response including DIP instance information corresponding to the DIP instance static characteristic information of the first radio access network. The third network element is further configured to determine, based on the DIP instance information, a first user plane network element that supports DIP transmission with the first radio access network.

[0038] In a sixth aspect, the present application provides a third network element, which includes a unit or module for executing the user plane network element selection method of the first aspect.

[0039] In a seventh aspect, the present application provides a third network element, which includes a processor and a memory, wherein the processor and the memory are connected, and the memory is configured to store program code, and the processor is configured to invoke the program code to execute the user plane network element selection method of the first aspect.

[0040] In an eighth aspect, the present application provides a communication system, which includes the third network element of the sixth aspect or the seventh aspect.

[0041] In a ninth aspect, the present application provides a computer readable storage medium, which stores a computer program, and the computer program is executed by a processor to implement the user plane network element selection method of the first aspect.

[0042] In a tenth aspect, the present application provides a computer program product including instructions, which, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the user plane network element selection method of the first aspect.

[0043] In an eleventh aspect, the present application provides a chip, which includes a processor and a data interface, and the processor reads instructions stored on a memory through the data interface and executes the user plane network element selection method of the first aspect.

[0044] Optionally, as an implementation manner, the chip can further include a memory, and the memory stores instructions, and the processor is configured to execute the instructions stored on the memory, and when the instructions are executed, the processor is configured to execute the user plane network element selection method of the first aspect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0045] The drawings used in the embodiments of the present application are described below.

[0046] FIG. 1A is a structure diagram of a 5GS transport network supporting TSN according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0047] FIG. 1B is a diagram of a 5G network architecture according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0048] FIG. 1C is a diagram of a DIP according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0049] FIG. 1D is a diagram of TSN interworking between a 5GS and a transport network according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0050] FIG. 1E is a diagram of a session establishment procedure according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0051] FIG. 1F is a structure diagram of a 5GS transport network supporting DIP according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0052] FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of a user plane network element selection method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0053] FIG. 3A is a flow diagram of registration of static characteristic information of a DIP instance of a UPF to an NRF according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0054] FIG. 3B is a flow diagram of registration of static characteristic information of a DIP instance of a RAN to an NRF according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0055] FIG. 3C is a flow diagram of registration of static characteristic information of a DIP instance of a RAN to an NRF according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0056] FIG. 4A is a flow diagram of a user plane network element selection method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0057] FIG. 4B is a flow diagram of registration of static characteristic information of a DIP instance of a RAN to an AMF according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0058] FIG. 4C is a flow diagram of a user plane network element selection method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0059] FIG. 4D is a flow diagram of a user plane network element modification method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0060] FIG. 5 is a structure diagram of a third network element according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0061] FIG. 6 is a structure diagram of another third network element according to an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0062] The technical solutions in the present application will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[0063] In the present application, the word "exemplary" or "for example" is used to mean "an example of" or "an example, only. Any embodiment or design solution described as "exemplary" or "for example" in the present application should not be construed as being more preferred or advantageous than other embodiments or design solutions. In fact, the word "exemplary" or "for example" is used to present concepts in a concrete manner.

[0064] In the present application, "at least one" means one or more, and "multiple" means two or more. "At least one of the following (one)" or the like means any combination of the items, including any combination of single item (one) or multiple items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c can mean a, b, c, (a and b), (a and c), (b and c), or (a and b and c), where a, b, and c can be single or multiple. "And / or" describes the association relationship between the associated objects, which means that there can be three relationships, for example, A and / or B can mean that A exists alone, A and B exist together, and B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally represents an "or" relationship between the associated objects. The sequence numbers of the steps of the embodiments of the present application (such as step S1, step S21, etc.) are only used to distinguish different steps, and do not limit the execution sequence between the steps.

[0065] In addition, unless otherwise stated, the ordinal numbers "first", "second", etc. used in the embodiments of the present application are used to distinguish a plurality of objects, and are not used to limit the order, time sequence, priority or importance of the plurality of objects. For example, the first device and the second device are only used for description, and do not mean that the structures, importance, etc. of the first device and the second device are different. In some embodiments, the first device and the second device can also be the same device.

[0066] In the above embodiments, according to the context, the term "when" can be interpreted as meaning "if", "after", "in response to determining", or "in response to detecting". The above is only an optional embodiment of the present application, and does not limit the present application. Any modification, equivalent replacement, improvement, etc. made within the concept and principle of the present application should be included in the protection scope of the present application.

[0067] The method of the embodiments of the present application can be applied to a Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, a Long Term Evolution-Advanced (LTE-A) system, an Enhanced Long Term Evolution-Advanced (eLTE), a The 5th Generation (5G) mobile communication system New Radio (NR) system, a The 6th Generation (6G) mobile communication system and the like, and can also be extended to similar wireless communication systems, such as Wireless-Fidelity (WiFi), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WIMAX), and a 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) related cellular system.

[0068] The 5G system architecture is described below.

[0069] The 5G system architecture is divided into an access network and a core network. The access network is used to implement wireless access related functions. The core network includes multiple network elements. Referring to FIG. 1B, FIG. 1B is a schematic diagram of a 5G network architecture provided by an embodiment of the present application; each network element involved in the network architecture is described below.

[0070] Terminal device 101: also referred to as user equipment (UE), refers to the terminal device of the network. It can include various handheld devices with wireless communication functions (such as mobile phones), vehicle-mounted devices, wearable devices, Internet of Things terminal devices, computing devices, or other processing devices connected to wireless modems, and various forms of terminals, mobile stations (MS), terminals (Terminal), soft terminals, access terminals, subscriber units, terminal device stations, mobile stations, mobile stations (MS), remote stations, remote terminals, mobile devices, terminal device agents, terminal device devices, and the like. For example, water meters, electricity meters, sensors, etc.

[0071] Radio Access Network (RAN) 102: It is a device that provides wireless access for terminal devices. Exemplarily, it is a network composed of multiple RAN nodes, which can implement wireless physical layer functions, resource scheduling and wireless resource management, wireless access control, and mobility management functions. The RAN is connected to the user plane network element through the user plane interface N3 and is used to transmit data of the terminal device; the RAN establishes a control plane signaling connection with the access and mobility management network element through the control plane interface N2, and is used to implement wireless access bearer control and other functions.

[0072] Specifically, it can be used to provide network access functions for authorized terminal devices in a specific area, and can use different quality transmission tunnels according to the level of the terminal device, the needs of the service, etc.

[0073] The RAN can manage wireless resources, provide access services for terminal devices, and further complete the forwarding of control signals and terminal device data between the terminal device and the core network.

[0074] The wireless access network can have any of the following alternative words: wireless access network, access network device, access network (Access Network, AN), wherein the access network device can be a base station, a continued evolution node B (gNB), an evolved node B (eNB), a transmission reception point (TRP), a centralized unit (CU) node, a distributed unit (DU) node, a transmission point (TP), a receiving point (RP), an access point (AP), or a global microwave access interoperability (WiMAX) base station, etc., which is not limited. In this application, the wireless access network is taken as an example for description, and the functions performed by the wireless access network are also applicable to other alternative words of the wireless access network.

[0075] User plane network element 103: It is mainly responsible for processing user messages, such as forwarding, charging, etc.

[0076] In the 5G communication system, the user plane network element can be a user plane function (UPF) network element. In future communication systems, the user plane network element can still be a UPF network element, or it can also have other names, which are not limited in this application.

[0077] The UPF mainly provides a service processing function of a user plane. The UPF is an anchor point of a protocol data unit (PDU) session connection, and is responsible for functions including data packet filtering of a user equipment, service routing, packet forwarding, anchoring, rate control, generation of charging information, quality of service (QoS) mapping and execution, identification and routing of uplink data to a data network, downlink packet buffering and notification triggering of downlink data arrival, connection with an external data network, and the like.

[0078] The data network 104 is an operator network for providing a data transmission service for a user, such as an IP multi-media service (IMS), the Internet, and the like.

[0079] In the 5G communication system, the data network can be a data network (DN). In a future communication system, the data network can still be a DN, or can have another name, which is not limited in the present application.

[0080] Exemplarily, the UE accesses the data network by establishing a session (PDU SESSION) between the UE, the RAN, the UPF, and the DN.

[0081] The access and mobility management function network element 105 is mainly used for mobility management and access management, and can be used to implement other functions in a mobility management entity (MME) function except for session management, for example, user location update, user registration network, user switching, and the like.

[0082] In the 5G communication system, the access and mobility management function network element can be an access and mobility management function (AMF) network element. In a future communication system, the access and mobility management function network element can still be an AMF network element, or can have another name, which is not limited in the present application.

[0083] The AMF is mainly responsible for functions such as authentication of the UE, mobility management of the UE, network slice selection, and selection of a session management network element. The AMF is an anchor point of N1 and N2 signaling connections, and provides routing of N1 / N2 session management (SM) messages for the session management network element. The AMF maintains and manages state information of the UE.

[0084] The SMF is mainly responsible for session management in a mobile network, such as session establishment, modification, and release. Specific functions include allocating IP addresses for users, selecting UPFs that provide message forwarding functions, and the like.

[0085] The session management network element 106 is mainly used for session management (such as session establishment, modification, and release), Internet Protocol (IP) address allocation and management of terminal devices, selection of a manageable user plane function, termination of a policy control and charging function interface, and downlink data notification. Specific functions include allocating IP addresses for users, selecting UPFs that provide message forwarding functions, and the like.

[0086] In a 5G communication system, the session management network element can be a Session Management Function (SMF) network element. In future communication systems, the session management network element can still be an SMF network element, or it can have other names, which are not limited in the present application.

[0087] The SMF is mainly responsible for all control plane functions of UE session management, including user plane network element selection, IP address allocation, QoS management of a session, obtaining policy and charging control (PCC) information from a policy control network element, and the like.

[0088] The policy control network element 107 is a unified policy framework for guiding network behavior, provides configuration policy information for UEs, and provides policy rule information (such as slice selection policies and QoS policies) for control plane function network elements (such as AMF and SMF network elements), and the like.

[0089] In a 5G communication system, the policy control network element can be a Policy Control Function (PCF) network element. In future communication systems, the policy control network element can still be a PCF network element, or it can have other names, which are not limited in the present application.

[0090] The application service network element 108 interacts with core network elements to provide some services, for example, interacts with a policy control network element to perform traffic policy control, interacts with a network capability exposure network element to obtain some network capability information or provide some application information to the network, and provides some data network access point information to the policy control network element to generate corresponding routing information for data traffic.

[0091] In the 5G communication system, the application service network element can be an application service function (Application Function, AF) network element. In the future communication system, the application service network element can still be an AF network element, or can also have other names, which are not limited in the present application. For example, the application service network element can have any of the following alternative words: application server (Application server, AS), AF, third party, third party application, application (Application, APP), etc.

[0092] The network slice selection network element 109 is used to select a set of slice instances for the UE, determine a set of AMFs for the UE, and allowed NSSAI. (NSSAI is the abbreviation of Network Slice Selection Assistance Information, i.e. network slice selection assistance information / network slice selection assistance information. A network slice is uniquely identified by a single S-NSSAI, and a set of one or more S-NSSAIs is referred to as NSSAI.)

[0093] In the 5G communication system, the network slice selection network element can be a network slice selection function (Network Slice Selection Function, NSSF) network element. In the future communication system, the network slice selection network element can still be an NSSF network element, or can also have other names, which are not limited in the present application.

[0094] The authentication service network element 110 is used for security authentication of the UE when the UE accesses the network.

[0095] In the 5G communication system, the authentication service network element can be an authentication server function (Authentication Server Function, AUSF) network element. In the future communication system, the authentication service network element can still be an AUSF network element, or can also have other names, which are not limited in the present application.

[0096] The data management network element 111 is used to process terminal device identification, access authentication, registration, and mobility management, etc.

[0097] In the 5G communication system, the data management network element can be a unified data management (Unified Data Management, UDM) network element. In the future communication system, the data management network element can still be a UDM network element, or can also have other names, which are not limited in the present application.

[0098] The UDM network element is mainly used for controlling user data, such as subscription information, authentication / authorization information. It includes obtaining subscription information from a data repository and providing it to other network elements (such as AMF); generating 3GPP authentication credentials for UE; registering to maintain the network element currently serving the UE.

[0099] The network slice admission control network element 112 is used to monitor and control the number of registered UEs on each network slice; monitor and control the number of PDU sessions established on each network slice. Event-based network slice status notification and reporting to user network functions (Network Function, NF).

[0100] In the 5G communication system, the network slice admission control network element can be a network slice admission control function (Network Slice Admission Control Function, NSACF) network element. In future communication systems, the network slice admission control network element can still be an NSACF network element, or it can also have other names, which are not limited in the present application.

[0101] The network slice authentication and authorization network element 113 is mainly responsible for the authentication and authorization of the network slice, and can interact with the authentication, authorization and accounting server (Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting Server, AAA-S) through the authentication, authorization and accounting proxy (Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting Proxy, AAA-P).

[0102] In the 5G communication system, the network slice authentication and authorization network element can be a network slice specific authentication and authorization function (Network Slice Specific Authentication and Authorization Function, NSSAAF) network element. In future communication systems, the network slice authentication and authorization network element can still be an NSSAAF network element, or it can also have other names, which are not limited in the present application.

[0103] It should be noted that the above-mentioned "network element" can also be referred to as an entity, device, apparatus or module, etc., which is not particularly limited in the present application. In addition, in order to facilitate understanding and description, the description of "network element" is omitted in part of the description, for example, the AMF network element is simply referred to as AMF, in this case, the "AMF" should be understood as the AMF network element or the AMF entity, and the following description of the same or similar cases is omitted.

[0104] In the network architecture, a unified data storage network element can also be included to provide storage capability for subscription data, policy data and capability exposure related data.

[0105] In the 5G communication system, the unified data storage network element can be a unified data repository (UDR) network element. In future communication systems, the unified data storage network element can still be a UDR network element, or can also have other names, which are not limited in the present application.

[0106] In the network architecture, a network capability exposure network element can also be included to connect the interaction between other internal network elements of the core network and the external application server of the core network, to provide network capability information to the external application server, or to provide information of the external application server to the core network element.

[0107] In the 5G communication system, the network capability exposure network element can be a network exposure function (NEF) network element. In future communication systems, the network capability exposure network element can still be an NEF, or can also have other names, which are not limited in the present application.

[0108] In the network architecture, a network storage network element can also be included to be responsible for network function service registration, state monitoring, etc., to realize automatic management, selection and scalability of network function services, and to allow each network function to discover services provided by other network functions. It is used for NF registration, management and state detection, and realizes automatic management of all NFs. When each NF starts, it must be registered with the NRF to provide services. The registration information includes NF type, address, service list, etc.

[0109] In the 5G communication system, the network storage network element can be a network repository function (NRF) network element. In future communication systems, the network storage network element can still be an NRF, or can also have other names, which are not limited in the present application.

[0110] In the network architecture, a network data analysis network element can also be included to analyze various types of network data, including network operation data collected from NFs, terminal and network related statistical data obtained from OAM network elements, and application data obtained from third party AFs. The analysis results generated by the NWDAF are also output to the NF, OAM or third party AF. The specific working steps of the network data analysis network element can be divided into several categories, including requesting analysis, subscribing analysis, collecting data, etc.

[0111] In the 5G communication system, the network data analysis network element can be a network data analysis function (NWDAF) network element. In future communication systems, the network data analysis network element can still be an NWDAF, or can also have other names, which are not limited in the present application.

[0112] In the network architecture, an operation administration and maintenance (OAM) network element can also be included. The OAM network element divides the management work of the network into three categories according to the actual needs of the operation of the operator network: operation, administration, and maintenance. Operation mainly completes the analysis, prediction, planning, and configuration work of daily network and services; maintenance mainly includes the daily operation activities of testing and fault management of the network and services.

[0113] In the 5G communication system, the operation administration and maintenance network element can be an OAM network element, which also refers to a network management device. In future communication systems, the operation administration and maintenance network element can still be an OAM, or can also have other names, which are not limited in the present application.

[0114] In the network architecture, an external operator management network element can also be included, which is used to evaluate whether the service network element is abnormal based on data.

[0115] In the 5G communication system, the external operator management network element can be an external operator management (EOMF) network element. In future communication systems, the external operator management network element can still be an EOMF network element, or can also have other names, which are not limited in the present application.

[0116] In the network architecture, an authentication server can also be included. The authentication server can be a service function located in the core network, such as an AUSF network element, an NRF network element, or a third-party authentication server; it can also be a network element outside the operator, such as an external AF.

[0117] It should be understood that the network architecture described above for the embodiments of the present application is only an example of a network architecture described from the perspective of service architecture, and the network architecture applicable to the embodiments of the present application is not limited to this. Any network architecture that can realize the functions of the above-mentioned network elements is applicable to the embodiments of the present application.

[0118] For example, in some network architectures, network function entities such as AMF, SMF, PCF, and UDM are all referred to as NF network elements; or in other network architectures, a set of network elements such as AMF, SMF, PCF, and UDM can be referred to as a Control Plane Function (CPF) network element.

[0119] Next, specific scheme details are introduced by taking network elements in a 5G system as an example. It can be understood that when the scheme is used in an LTE system or a future communication system, each network element in the scheme can be replaced by another network element having a corresponding function, and the present application does not limit this.

[0120] It should be understood that FIG. IB is only an exemplary network architecture, and the network architecture to which the embodiments of the present application are applicable is not limited thereto, and any network architecture capable of realizing the functions of the above-mentioned network elements is applicable to the embodiments of the present application.

[0121] Next, DIP transmission is described in detail.

[0122] Referring to FIG. 1C, FIG. 1C is a schematic diagram of a DIP provided by an embodiment of the present application; PE refers to a Provider Edge. The DIP has the following characteristics:

[0123] a) Random data packet transmission (reception) is not allowed, and each data packet is assigned a specific transmission (reception) time period, thereby avoiding bursts, controlling internal queuing delay, and eliminating long tail effects.

[0124] b) A periodic shaping and scheduling mechanism is used, thereby forming an isolation period between cycles and avoiding micro-bursts and their hop-by-hop accumulation.

[0125] c) The upper bound of the end-to-end delay of the system is determined, and the upper limit of the jitter is determined.

[0126] Specifically, the DIP has the following main functions:

[0127] a) Admission control is performed on the control plane: the control plane of the ingress edge node can record the resource reservation state of each flow, and the ingress edge node can determine whether a deterministic flow is allowed to enter the network for deterministic forwarding based on the resource reservation result. The resource reservation state of the data flow can be dynamically refreshed to realize resource reservation renewal.

[0128] b) Path planning and resource reservation are performed on the control plane: deterministic path planning for data flow transmission is realized, and distributed routing algorithms or centralized path calculation can be used to plan the transmission path for data flow and support necessary deterministic resource reservation along the way in advance.

[0129] c) Performing path binding in the data plane: The resource reservation of DIP transmission is implemented on the nodes of the data forwarding path, and the subsequent data packet transmission needs to bind the path; the path binding technology can be coupled with the label carrying technology.

[0130] d) Deterministic periodic forwarding in the data plane: The ingress edge node embeds the time period number into the packet according to the time when the data packet is sent. After receiving the packet, the intermediate node performs deterministic periodic forwarding according to the period mapping, so that the data packet carries the local time period number when it is sent, until the data packet is sent to the egress edge node.

[0131] The specific implementation mechanisms of DIP include Tagged Cyclic Queuing and Forwarding (TCQF) and Cycle Specified Queuing and Forwarding (CSQF).

[0132] TCQF supports more than 2 cycles, and a new or existing packet header field called tag is used to indicate the cycle number, replacing the cycle mapping in CQF of TSN which is purely based on the synchronization of the receiving clock (the cycle mapping is calculated by the controller plane, considering the link, the internal forwarding delay of the node and the cycle clock offset). The TCQF option helps the receiving port to identify the time period in which the packet is sent from the upstream router, which can be used to determine the output port cycle buffer for queuing the packet. The target advantages of TCQF include low end-to-end jitter, easy high-speed hardware implementation, optional ability to support a large number of flows in a large network by applying TCQF to DetNet aggregation instead of each DetNet flow (aggregated by DiffServ), and support for wide-area DetNet networks with arbitrary link delays and delay variations, low-precision clock synchronization.

[0133] CSQF improves CQF by explicitly specifying the transmission cycle of each node on the path, and can achieve end-to-end bounded delay. Specifically, it is achieved by specifying the Segment Routing (SR) proxy Segment ID (SID). SR is a source routing technology that does not maintain per-flow state at intermediate and egress nodes. The CSQF based on SR supports flow aggregation, which is beneficial for expansion to macro networks. CSQF defines a new field called Cycle Segment to identify the cycle period. Cycle Segment can identify the interface / link, the cycle of the interface / link. If you want to specify which interface and cycle the packet should be transmitted to, you only need to attach a cycle segment to the packet. By attaching a cycle segment list to a packet, not only can the explicit routing of the packet be achieved, but also the transmission cycle of each node along the path can be specified without the per-flow state of the intermediate and egress nodes.

[0134] Referring to FIG. 1A, when the 5GS transport network supports TSN, the session management network element SMF acts as a centralized user control (CUC) network element (or the CUC function is combined with the SMF), and the SMF provides user / network configuration information (i.e., Talker Group & Listener Group, also known as merged flow requirements) to the centralized network configuration (CNC) in the TN. The CNC provides the SMF with state group information containing end station communication configuration. The specific implementation process is shown in FIG. 1D.

[0135] If the RAN and UPF support AN-TL and CN-TL functions, there are steps 2, 3, 9, 10, 12 and 13 in FIG. 1D. Specifically:

[0136] In steps 2 and 3, the SMF / CUC obtains the relevant information of the Talker or Listener group from the AN-TL or CN-TL.

[0137] In step 9, the SMF / CUC provides the TN CNC with QoS flow-based flow requirements through the user / network interface (UNI), and the TN CNC uses the flow requirements as input to configure the corresponding path and scheduling in the TN.

[0138] In step 10, the TN CNC provides the SMF / CUC with a state group containing end station communication configuration.

[0139] In steps 12 and 13, the SMF / CUC sends the relevant information of the state group to the AN-TL or CN-TL.

[0140] UPF has the functions of providing user message forwarding, processing, connection with DN, session anchor point, QoS policy implementation, etc. In the scenarios of session establishment, UE mobility or other scenarios, the selection of UPF is often involved. Referring to FIG. 1E, FIG. 1E is a schematic diagram of a session establishment process provided by an embodiment of the present application. After a series of processes from step 1 to step 7 are completed in the session establishment process, the SMF needs to select one or more UPFs for the UE. The selection of UPF can be based on the session type, user location information, the capability of UPF and the function required by the specific UE session, etc.

[0141] When the transport network TN in the mobile communication system supports DIP, the mobile communication system takes the 5GS as an example, that is, the TSN transport network in FIG. 1A is replaced by a DIP transport network. Referring to FIG. 1F, FIG. 1F is a structural schematic diagram of a 5GS transport network supporting DIP provided by an embodiment of the present application. The DIP instance refers to a subnetwork (or subpath) of the DIP transport network. For example, the DIP instance 1 is the edge node A-core node G-core node J-edge node D; the DIP instance 2 is the edge node A-core node H-core node K-edge node D; and the DIP instance 3 is the edge node A-core node I-core node L-edge node E. It can be seen that the UPFs corresponding to or connected by different DIP instances are different. If the currently selected UPF of the user plane does not match the expected DIP instance, or the selected UPF during the session establishment is not suitable, resulting in that the accessed DIP instance is not suitable or the accessed DIP instance is not supported, the DIP transmission between the RAN and the UPF cannot be guaranteed, and the determinacy requirement of the service flow cannot be guaranteed.

[0142] Therefore, an embodiment of the present application provides a user plane network element selection method, which can reliably guarantee the DIP transmission between the wireless access network and the user plane network element, and guarantee the determinacy requirement of the service flow.

[0143] The above-mentioned user plane network element selection method can be executed by a third network element in a communication system or by a chip in the third network element. The above-mentioned communication system can be various communication systems such as the LTE system, the 5G communication system or the 6G communication system.

[0144] The user plane network element selection method will be described in detail below.

[0145] Referring to FIG. 2, FIG. 2 is a flow schematic diagram of a user plane network element selection method provided by an embodiment of the present application. The above-mentioned user plane network element selection method includes the following steps:

[0146] 201. The third network element acquires the identification information of the first wireless access network or the DIP instance static characteristic information of the DIP instance that can be accessed by the first wireless access network.

[0147] Specifically, the identification information of the first radio access network can be composed of one or more of numbers, capital letters, small letters, or special characters.

[0148] In this embodiment, the third network element can be an SMF network element.

[0149] 202. The third network element determines DIP instance information of the DIP instance that the first radio access network can support access based on the identification information of the first radio access network or the DIP instance static characteristic information of the first radio access network.

[0150] Specifically, the DIP instance information refers to various related information of the DIP instance. The DIP instance can be configured by a DIP control plane or a network management, etc. The DIP instance can be a subnetwork or a subpath of the DIP transport network. Each DIP instance has corresponding DIP transport path, periodic forwarding, edge shaping, etc. DIP configuration. The DIP instance information can include various configuration information of the DIP instance.

[0151] For example, the DIP instance information includes DIP instance dynamic characteristic information and the above-mentioned DIP instance static characteristic information. The DIP instance dynamic characteristic information refers to information in the DIP instance information that will change dynamically, such as DIP transport path information, DIP forwarding configuration information, QoS information of the DIP instance, remaining resources currently available to the DIP instance, or flow identification information of the DIP instance; while the DIP instance static characteristic information refers to information in the DIP instance information that does not need to be frequently updated, such as identification information of the DIP instance, or corresponding or connection relationship between the DIP instance and the RAN and the UPF (such as available gNB ID, UPF ID indicating corresponding or connected RAN and UPF). The DIP instance identification is that the DIP control plane or the network management, etc. allocates corresponding identification (DIP Instance ID) to the DIP instance to distinguish different DIP instances.

[0152] In one possible implementation, the identification information of the DIP instance can be composed of one or more of numbers, capital letters, small letters, or special characters.

[0153] For example, the details of the DIP instance information can be referred to Table 1 below.

[0154] Table 1 DIP instance information table

[0155] Wherein, the DIP can realize explicit routing through SRv6, and the SID can be used to identify the node-level planned DIP transport path node.

[0156] The cycle length refers to the time length of a DIP forwarding cycle.

[0157] Cycle number refers to the maximum number of cycle supported by a DIP instance, such as TCQF supporting 3 or more cycle alternation.

[0158] Edge shaping refers to that a DIP ingress edge node can perform edge shaping on a service flow, and distribute data packets to different DIP cycles for transmission.

[0159] A DIP instance can provide deterministic QoS guarantee, such as delay and jitter, for a service flow.

[0160] Link speed refers to the link rate provided by a DIP instance for data packet transmission of a service flow, which generally corresponds to the interface rate of a DIP instance interface.

[0161] 203、The third network element determines a first user plane network element supporting DIP transmission with the first radio access network based on the DIP instance information.

[0162] In the embodiments of the present application, the third network element determines DIP instance information of a DIP instance that can be supported by the first radio access network based on the identification information of the first radio access network or the DIP instance static characteristic information of the first radio access network, and determines a first user plane network element supporting DIP transmission with the first radio access network based on the DIP instance information. Since the selection of the user plane network element is made by considering the DIP instance information, it is ensured that the DIP transmission between the first radio access network and the first user plane network element can be reliably performed, and the deterministic requirement of the service flow is effectively guaranteed.

[0163] In a possible implementation, when the DIP instance static characteristic information includes identification information of the DIP instance, the first network element is configured to store identification information of at least one user plane network element and DIP instance static characteristic information corresponding to the user plane network element; and / or, the first network element stores identification information of at least one radio access network and DIP instance static characteristic information corresponding to the radio access network.

[0164] Exemplarily, the first network element can be an NRF network element. The identification information of the user plane network element and / or the radio access network can be composed of one or more of numbers, capital letters, small letters, or special characters.

[0165] In this embodiment, the user plane network element and / or the radio access network stores or registers the identification information of itself and the DIP instance static characteristic information of the DIP instance supported by itself to the first network element, and the first network element can provide these information to the third network element when necessary. For example, the third network element can obtain the identification information of the user plane network element accessing the same DIP instance as the first radio access network and the DIP instance static characteristic information corresponding to the user plane network element from the first network element based on the identification information of the first radio access network.

[0166] Referring to FIG. 3A, FIG. 3A is a flowchart of a process in which static characteristic information of a DIP instance of a UPF is registered to an NRF according to an embodiment of the present application. In this embodiment, the first network element is taken as an example of an NRF network element. Before session establishment, the UPF pre-registers static characteristic information of a DIP instance of the UPF to the NRF. The specific process includes the following steps.

[0167] A301. The UPF sends a registration request to the NRF, where the registration request includes identification information of the UPF and static characteristic information of a DIP instance corresponding to the UPF.

[0168] By way of example, the service-based message corresponding to the registration request can be Nnrf_NFManagement_NFRegister Request.

[0169] A302. The NRF stores the identification information of the UPF and the static characteristic information of the DIP instance of the UPF.

[0170] A303. The NRF returns a registration response to the UPF.

[0171] By way of example, the service-based message corresponding to the registration response can be Nnrf_NFManagement_NFRegister response. The registration response is used to inform the UPF of the registration result.

[0172] Referring to FIG. 3B, FIG. 3B is a flowchart of a process in which static characteristic information of a DIP instance of a RAN is registered to an NRF according to an embodiment of the present application. In this embodiment, the first network element is taken as an example of an NRF network element. The RAN pre-registers static characteristic information of a DIP instance of the RAN to the NRF. At this time, the existing functions of the RAN and the NRF need to be enhanced with the help of an AMF. The specific process includes the following steps.

[0173] B301. The RAN sends a registration request to the AMF.

[0174] Specifically, the registration request includes identification information of the RAN and static characteristic information of a DIP instance corresponding to the RAN.

[0175] B302. The AMF sends a registration request to the NRF.

[0176] By way of example, the service-based message corresponding to the registration request in step B302 can be Nnrf_NFManagement_NFRegister Request.

[0177] B303. The NRF stores the identification information of the RAN and the static characteristic information of the DIP instance of the RAN.

[0178] B304. The NRF returns a registration response to the AMF.

[0179] Exemplarily, the registration response corresponds to a service message, which can be Nnrf_NFManagement_NFRegister response.

[0180] B305, the AMF returns the registration response to the RAN. The registration result is informed to the RAN through the registration response.

[0181] Referring to FIG. 3C, FIG. 3C is a flowchart illustrating a process in which a DIP instance static feature information of a RAN is registered to a NRF according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In this embodiment, the first network element is taken as an example of the NRF network element, and the RAN pre-registers its DIP instance static feature information to the NRF. The specific process includes the following steps.

[0182] C301, the RAN sends a registration request to the NRF.

[0183] Specifically, the registration request includes the identification information of the RAN and the DIP instance static feature information corresponding to the RAN.

[0184] C302, the NRF stores the identification information of the RAN and the DIP instance static feature information thereof.

[0185] C303, the NRF returns a registration response to the RAN. The registration result is informed to the RAN through the registration response.

[0186] In one possible implementation, a storage network element is arranged to store the DIP instance information, and the storage network element can provide the first network element with the information as necessary. The DIP instance information includes the DIP instance static feature information, and thus the corresponding DIP instance information can be obtained based on the DIP instance static feature information.

[0187] The storage network element can have the following possible forms:

[0188] Form 1, DIP edge node: suitable for a distributed architecture.

[0189] Form 2, DetNet controller: suitable for a centralized architecture.

[0190] The DIP instance information is stored in the DIP transport network side (corresponding to Form 1 and Form 2), which has the following advantages: a. saving the storage resources of the 5GS network element; b. subsequent changes in the DIP transport network mechanism and improvements / modifications of the DIP instance information will not have a great impact on the 5GS; c. the update process of the DIP instance information depends on the internal implementation of the DIP, and there is no need for frequent interaction between the DIP transport network and the 5GS.

[0191] Form 3, RAN and UPF: suitable for a distributed architecture.

[0192] Form 4, UDR: suitable for centralized and distributed architecture.

[0193] The DIP instance information is stored on the 5GS side (corresponding to Form 3 and Form 4), which facilitates the functions of access of service flow, generation of flow identification information, etc. on the 5GS side, without the need for frequent interaction between the 5GS and the DIP transport network. In addition, if stored in the RAN and the UPF, the synchronization of the DIP instance information needs to be considered (such as the scenario where different RANs (or UPFs) share the same DIP instance, when the DIP instance information needs to be updated, different RANs (or UPFs) connected with the DIP instance need to be synchronized to update the DIP instance information). If stored in the UDR, this does not need to be considered.

[0194] In a possible implementation, referring to FIG. 4A, FIG. 4A is a specific flowchart of a user plane network element selection method provided by an embodiment of the present application; at this time, the communication system involved in the user plane network element selection method includes a first radio access network, a first network element, a third network element, and a storage network element. When the DIP instance static characteristic information includes the identification information of the DIP instance, in the step 202, the third network element determines the DIP instance information of the DIP instance that the first radio access network can support access based on the identification information of the first radio access network, which specifically includes the following steps:

[0195] A221, the third network element sends a first information acquisition request to the first network element, and the first information acquisition request includes the identification information of the first radio access network.

[0196] Exemplarily, the service message corresponding to the first information acquisition request can be Nnrf_NFManagement_NFStatusSubscribe. The third network element requests the first network element to find the user plane network element that can support access to the DIP instance and access the same DIP instance as the first radio access network according to the identification information of the first radio access network, and the corresponding DIP instance static characteristic information.

[0197] Correspondingly, the first network element receives the first information acquisition request, and finds the identification information of the user plane network element that accesses the same DIP instance as the first radio access network and the corresponding DIP instance static characteristic information according to the identification information of the first radio access network. The number of the user plane network elements that access the same DIP instance as the first radio access network can be one or more, and correspondingly, the number of the DIP instance static characteristic information can be one or more, which is not particularly limited.

[0198] The first network element sends a first information acquisition response to the third network element, the first information acquisition response including identification information of a user plane network element accessing the same DIP instance as the first radio access network and static characteristic information of the DIP instance corresponding to the user plane network element.

[0199] Exemplarily, the service-oriented message corresponding to the first information acquisition response can be Nnrf_NFManagement_NFStatusNotify.

[0200] A222. The third network element receives the first information acquisition response sent by the first network element.

[0201] A223. The third network element sends a second information acquisition request to the storage network element, the second information acquisition request including static characteristic information of the DIP instance corresponding to the user plane network element.

[0202] Specifically, the third network element requests the storage network element to find DIP instance information corresponding to the static characteristic information of the DIP instance according to the static characteristic information (such as identification information of the DIP instance) of the DIP instance returned by the first network element in step A222.

[0203] Correspondingly, the storage network element receives the second information acquisition request and finds the corresponding DIP instance information according to the static characteristic information of the DIP instance. The storage network element sends a second information acquisition response to the third network element, the second information acquisition response including the DIP instance information corresponding to the static characteristic information of the DIP instance returned in step A222.

[0204] A224. The third network element receives the second information acquisition response sent by the storage network element.

[0205] In this embodiment, the third network element first obtains identification information of a user plane network element accessing the same DIP instance as the first radio access network and static characteristic information of the DIP instance corresponding to the user plane network element from the first network element based on the identification information of the first radio access network; and then obtains DIP instance information corresponding to the static characteristic information of the DIP instance from the storage network element based on the static characteristic information of the DIP instance, which can ensure that the DIP instance information is DIP instance information of a DIP instance that the first radio access network can support to access.

[0206] Referring to FIG. 4A, in step 203, the third network element takes the DIP instance information returned by the storage network element in step A224 as a parameter, and thus knows the available resource size of the DIP instance corresponding to the user plane network element, the QoS guarantee that the DIP instance can provide, the DIP path length or hop count between the user plane network element and the radio access network, and the like. Based on the above information, the third network element can select a suitable user plane network element, i.e., determine the first user plane network element based on the DIP instance information.

[0207] In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4A, other steps can be included before or after the selection of the user plane network element, without particular limitation. Exemplarily, the step of selecting the user plane network element shown in FIG. 4A can replace the "UPF selection" in FIG. 1E, and the influence of the DIP instance configuration is considered to assist the UPF selection when the PDU session is established.

[0208] In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4A, the radio access network and the user plane network element can pre-store or register the DIP instance static characteristic information related to the DIP transport network to the first network element, so that the third network element can discover the corresponding radio access network and user plane network element according to the DIP instance static characteristic information, find the selectable user plane network element and the DIP instance; and the DIP instance information is stored in the storage network element to assist the selection of the DIP instance or the execution of other functions. In addition, the DIP instance configuration of the 5GS TN is used as the input parameter of the selection of the user plane network element, and the selection of the user plane network element is affected. The embodiment considers the influence of the DIP transport network configuration when the user plane network element is selected in the session establishment, the reference factors are more comprehensive, and it is helpful to provide the DIP-based deterministic guarantee for the subsequent service flow of the 5GS.

[0209] In another possible implementation, the DIP instance static characteristic information further includes a corresponding (binding) relationship between the identification information of the radio access network corresponding to the DIP instance and the identification information of the user plane network element corresponding to the DIP instance. The above-mentioned corresponding relationship indicates the radio access network and the user plane network element connected by the DIP instance.

[0210] Correspondingly, the identification information of the user plane network element accessing the same DIP instance as the first radio access network is determined based on the identification information of the first radio access network and the above-mentioned corresponding relationship.

[0211] In the embodiment, when the DIP instance static characteristic information further includes the corresponding relationship between the identification information of the radio access network corresponding to the DIP instance and the identification information of the user plane network element corresponding to the DIP instance, the first network element does not need to store the DIP instance static characteristic information corresponding to the radio access network.

[0212] In the embodiment, when the DIP instance static characteristic information of the DIP instance includes the identifier of the DIP instance, the identifier of the radio access network corresponding to the DIP instance, and the corresponding relationship between the identifier of the user plane network element and the DIP instance static characteristic information corresponding to the user plane network element, the first network element stores the identifier of the user plane network element and the DIP instance static characteristic information corresponding to the user plane network element. The storage network element stores the DIP instance information of the DIP instance. In the embodiment, the specific process of the user plane network element selection method is the same as that in FIG. 4A, except that in step A221, after receiving the first information acquisition request, the first network element can determine the identifier of the user plane network element accessing the same DIP instance as the first radio access network according to the identifier of the first radio access network and the corresponding relationship, and then determine the DIP instance static characteristic information corresponding to the user plane network element based on the identifier of the user plane network element. The embodiment provides a solution in which the DIP instance information is taken as a parameter by the third network element during session establishment in the 5GS TN supporting DIP scenario, and the selection of the user plane network element is affected. The radio access network does not need to register or report its own DIP instance static characteristic information, but only needs to find the selectable user plane network element, find the DIP instance accessible to the first radio access network according to the DIP instance static characteristic information provided by the user plane network element side, and take the DIP instance information as a parameter to assist the selection of the user plane network element.

[0213] In another possible implementation, the radio access network does not need to pre-store or register its own DIP instance static characteristic information in the first network element, but actively reports the DIP instance static characteristic information to the third network element to assist the selection of the user plane network element during session establishment, or directly reports its own DIP instance static characteristic information to the third network element during session establishment. For example, the third network element takes the SMF network element as an example, and carries the DIP instance static characteristic information of the radio access network in the messages in steps 1 and 3 in FIG. 1E to report the DIP instance static characteristic information to the SMF network element. Exemplarily, the second network element can be an AMF network element. The first network element stores the identifier of the user plane network element and the DIP instance static characteristic information corresponding to the user plane network element, and the registration process of the user plane network element can refer to the related description in FIG. 3A, which is not repeated here. The storage network element stores the DIP instance information of the DIP instance. Therefore, the user plane network element selection method in the embodiment involves a communication system including a first radio access network, a first network element, a second network element, a third network element, and a storage network element. The interaction process of each network element can refer to the related description in FIG. 4C below.

[0214] In a possible implementation, the second network element stores the identifier of at least one radio access network and the DIP instance static characteristic information corresponding to the radio access network.

[0215] In the embodiment, the wireless access network stores or registers the identity information of the wireless access network and the DIP instance static characteristic information of the DIP instance supported by the wireless access network into the second network element, so that the third network element can obtain the DIP instance static characteristic information of the first wireless access network from the second network element.

[0216] Referring to FIG. 4B, FIG. 4B is a flowchart of a process of registration of DIP instance static characteristic information of a RAN to an AMF according to an embodiment of the present application. In the embodiment, the second network element is taken as an example of an AMF. The RAN stores the DIP instance static characteristic information of the RAN in the AMF through a Next Generation Application Protocol (NGAP), and the specific process includes the following steps.

[0217] 401. The RAN sends identity information of the RAN and DIP instance static characteristic information of the RAN to the AMF.

[0218] For example, the RAN can send an NG setup request or a RAN configuration update message to the AMF, and the identity information of the RAN and the DIP instance static characteristic information of the RAN are included in the NG setup request or the RAN configuration update message. The service message corresponding to the NG setup request can be NG SETUP REQUEST, and the service message corresponding to the RAN configuration update message can be RAN CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE.

[0219] 402. The AMF stores / updates the DIP instance static characteristic information of the RAN.

[0220] 403. The AMF returns a request response or an acknowledgement message to the RAN. The service message corresponding to the request response can be NG SETUP RESPONSE, and the service message corresponding to the acknowledgement message can be RAN CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE.

[0221] The AMF returns a response to the RAN to inform the processing result of the DIP instance static characteristic information.

[0222] In a possible implementation, referring to FIG. 4C, FIG. 4C is a flowchart of a specific process of a user plane network element selection method according to an embodiment of the present application. The user plane network element selection method includes the following steps.

[0223] 404. The UE sends a PDU session establishment request to the second network element through the first wireless access network.

[0224] In the embodiment of the application, the second network element is taken as an example of an AMF network element. The first wireless access network stores the DIP instance static characteristic information of the DIP instance of the first wireless access network into the second network element, and the second network element sends the DIP instance static characteristic information of the first wireless access network to the third network element. For example, the second network element can attach the DIP instance static characteristic information of the first wireless access network to the Nsmf_PDUSession_CreateSMContext Request and send it to the third network element. It can be seen that the DIP instance static characteristic information of the wireless access network side is actively reported by the second network element at the session establishment, and no interaction enhancement is needed between the wireless access network and the first network element.

[0225] After step 404, other steps can also be included, which are not limited herein.

[0226] 405. The third network element receives the DIP instance static characteristic information of the first wireless access network sent by the second network element.

[0227] In the embodiment, the third network element can obtain the DIP instance static characteristic information of the first wireless access network from the second network element, and the first network element does not need to store the DIP instance static characteristic information of the first wireless access network.

[0228] In a possible implementation, with reference to FIG. 4C, in the step 202, the third network element determines the DIP instance information of the DIP instance that can be supported by the first wireless access network based on the DIP instance static characteristic information of the first wireless access network, specifically including the following steps:

[0229] B221. The third network element sends a third information acquisition request to the storage network element.

[0230] The third information acquisition request includes the DIP instance static characteristic information of the first wireless access network. Accordingly, the storage network element receives the third information acquisition request, and determines the DIP instance information corresponding to the DIP instance static characteristic information of the first wireless access network according to the DIP instance static characteristic information of the first wireless access network. The storage network element returns a third information acquisition response to the third network element, and the third information acquisition response includes the DIP instance information corresponding to the DIP instance static characteristic information of the first wireless access network.

[0231] B222. The third network element receives the third information acquisition response sent by the storage network element.

[0232] In the embodiment, the third network element can obtain the DIP instance information corresponding to the DIP instance static characteristic information of the first wireless access network from the storage network element based on the DIP instance static characteristic information of the first wireless access network.

[0233] In a possible implementation, with reference to FIG. 4C, the step 203 specifically includes the following steps:

[0234] 231、The third network element determines the first DIP instance based on the DIP instance information, the first DIP instance being a DIP instance used by the first radio access network for DIP transmission.

[0235] Specifically, the third network element knows the available resource size of the DIP instance, the QoS guarantee provided by the DIP instance, the DIP path length or the number of hops and other DIP instance information according to the DIP instance information received in step B222, and can select a suitable DIP instance as the first DIP instance based on the above DIP instance information.

[0236] 232、The third network element requests the first network element to discover the first user plane network element corresponding to the first DIP instance.

[0237] Exemplarily, the third network element can send Nnrf_NFManagement_NFStatusSubscribe to the first network element to request discovery of the user plane network element supporting access to the first DIP instance, and the Nnrf_NFManagement_NFStatusSubscribe can include the identification information of the first DIP instance. The first network element finds the identification information of the corresponding user plane network element, i.e. the identification information of the first user plane network element, according to the identification information of the first DIP instance. The first network element returns the identification information of the first user plane network element to the third network element. Exemplarily, the first network element can send Nnrf_NFManagement_NFStatusNotify to the third network element, and the Nnrf_NFManagement_NFStatusNotify carries the identification information of the first user plane network element.

[0238] 233、The third network element receives the identification information of the first user plane network element sent by the first network element.

[0239] 234、The third network element determines the first user plane network element based on the identification information of the first user plane network element.

[0240] Specifically, the third network element confirms the user plane network element to be selected according to the identification information of the first user plane network element received in step 233, i.e. determines the first user plane network element as the user plane network element supporting DIP transmission with the first radio access network.

[0241] In this embodiment, the third network element first determines the first DIP instance for DIP transmission based on the DIP instance information, and then requests the first network element to discover the first user plane network element corresponding to the first DIP instance. When receiving the identification information of the first user plane network element returned by the first network element, the first user plane network element can be confirmed based on the identification information.

[0242] In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4C, other steps can be included before or after the selection of the user plane network element, without particular limitation. Exemplarily, the step of selecting the user plane network element shown in FIG. 4C can replace the "UPF selection" in FIG. 1E, and the influence of the DIP instance configuration is considered at the PDU session establishment to assist the UPF selection.

[0243] The embodiment shown in FIG. 4C gives a scheme in which the third network element takes the DIP instance information as an input parameter at the session establishment to influence the selection of the user plane network element when the 5GS TN supports the DIP scenario. Since the selection of the user plane network element at the session establishment takes into account the influence of the DIP transmission network configuration, it is helpful for the 5GS to provide deterministic guarantee based on the DIP for subsequent service flows.

[0244] When the DIP instance bound by the service flow needs to be changed, since one user plane network element can support one or more DIP instances, when the DIP instance needs to be modified, the user plane network element does not necessarily need to be modified. Referring to FIG. 4D, FIG. 4D is a specific flow diagram of a user plane network element modification according to an embodiment of the present application; the specific process of modifying the user plane network element by the 5GS includes the following steps:

[0245] 406. The third network element receives the user plane network element modification request sent by the triggering network element, and the user plane network element modification request includes the DIP instance information currently bound by the service flow and the DIP instance information expected to be bound by the service flow.

[0246] Specifically, the triggering network element is the network element that detects that the DIP instance needs to be changed. The event triggering the DIP instance change can include that the DIP transmission network instance state changes or is updated, causing the transmission DIP instance to be changed because the service flow requirement cannot be met, the service flow admission fails, the third network element needs to reselect the user plane network element to provide a new optional DIP instance, and the like. The triggering network element can be a radio access network, a user plane network element, a DetNet controller, or the like.

[0247] Exemplarily, when the triggering network element detects that the DIP instance needs to be changed, if the DIP instance information does not include the correspondence between the identifier information of the radio access network corresponding to the DIP instance and the identifier information of the user plane network element corresponding to the DIP instance, the triggering network element sends the above-mentioned user plane network element modification request to the third network element, and the third network element determines whether the user plane network element needs to be modified.

[0248] Exemplarily, if the DIP instance information includes the correspondence between the identifier information of the radio access network corresponding to the DIP instance and the identifier information of the user plane network element corresponding to the DIP instance, the subsequent steps do not need to be performed, and the triggering network element can only determine whether the user plane network element needs to be modified according to the DIP instance information before and after the change.

[0249] 407. The third network element determines whether to modify the user plane network element of the service flow based on the DIP instance information currently bound by the service flow and the DIP instance information expected to be bound by the service flow.

[0250] Exemplarily, the first network element stores the identification information of the user plane network element and the static characteristic information of the DIP instance corresponding to the user plane network element. Since the DIP instance information includes the static characteristic information of the DIP instance, the third network element provides the DIP instance information currently bound by the service flow and the DIP instance information expected to be bound by the service flow to the first network element to request the identification information of the user plane network element corresponding to the DIP instance information.

[0251] The third network element determines whether to change the user plane network element according to the identification information of the two user plane network elements returned by the first network element (i.e., confirms whether the DIP instances before and after the change correspond to the same user plane network element).

[0252] 408A1. When it is determined to modify the user plane network element of the service flow, the third network element re-determines the user plane network element of the service flow.

[0253] Specifically, if the identification information of the two user plane network elements returned by the first network element is different, the user plane network element of the service flow needs to be changed, the third network element re-selects the user plane network element for the service flow, and triggers the session modification process to change the user plane network element.

[0254] 408A2. The third network element sends a modification confirmation response to the triggering network element.

[0255] Specifically, after the user plane network element is modified, the third network element returns a modification confirmation response to the triggering network element to inform the triggering network element that the user plane network element of the service flow has been modified.

[0256] 408B. When it is determined not to modify the user plane network element of the service flow, the third network element sends a modification request response to the triggering network element.

[0257] Specifically, if the identification information of the two user plane network elements returned by the first network element is the same, the user plane network element of the service flow does not need to be changed, at this time, the third network element returns a modification request response to the triggering network element to inform the triggering network element that the user plane network element does not need to be changed.

[0258] The steps 408A1-408A2 and 408B correspond to two optional execution cases.

[0259] In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4D, when the DIP instance of the service flow needs to be modified, the third network element determines whether to modify the user plane network element of the service flow based on the DIP instance information currently bound by the service flow and the DIP instance information expected to be bound by the service flow, to meet the demand of user plane network element modification.

[0260] Compared with the prior art, the third network element needs to support the newly added action or function, and obtains the optional user plane network element and DIP instance information as the reference for UPF selection by interacting with the first network element and the storage network element, thereby enhancing the selection of the user plane network element of the 5GS.

[0261] The device provided in the present application will be described in detail below.

[0262] Referring to FIG. 5, FIG. 5 is a structural schematic diagram of a third network element according to an embodiment of the present application. The third network element shown in FIG. 5 can be used to implement the functions of the user plane network element selection method embodiment shown in FIG. 2, and thus can also achieve the beneficial effects possessed by the user plane network element selection method embodiment. In the embodiments of the present application, the third network element can be an electronic device, and can also be a module (such as a chip) applied in an electronic device.

[0263] As shown in FIG. 5, the third network element 500 includes an obtaining module 510 and a determining module 520. The third network element 500 is used to implement the functions of the user plane network element selection method embodiment. Alternatively, the third network element 500 can include a module for implementing any function or operation of the user plane network element selection method embodiment, which can be implemented by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof, in whole or in part.

[0264] When the third network element 500 is used to implement the functions of the user plane network element selection method embodiment, the obtaining module 510 is configured to obtain the identification information of the first radio access network or the DIP instance static characteristic information of the deterministic internet protocol (DIP) instance that the first radio access network can support access. The determining module 520 is configured to determine the DIP instance information of the DIP instance that the first radio access network can support access based on the identification information of the first radio access network or the DIP instance static characteristic information of the first radio access network. The determining module 520 is further configured to determine the first user plane network element that supports DIP transmission with the first radio access network based on the DIP instance information.

[0265] In a possible implementation, the determining module 520 is specifically configured to perform the following in determining the DIP instance information of the DIP instance that the first radio access network can support access based on the identification information of the first radio access network:

[0266] send a first information obtaining request to the first network element, the first information obtaining request including the identification information of the first radio access network.

[0267] receive a first information obtaining response sent by the first network element, the first information obtaining response including the identification information of the user plane network element that accesses the same DIP instance as the first radio access network and the DIP instance static characteristic information corresponding to the user plane network element.

[0268] The second information acquisition request is sent to a storage network element, and the second information acquisition request includes DIP instance static characteristic information corresponding to the user plane network element.

[0269] The second information acquisition response is received from the storage network element, and the second information acquisition response includes DIP instance information corresponding to the DIP instance static characteristic information of the user plane network element.

[0270] In a possible implementation, the first network element stores identification information of at least one user plane network element and DIP instance static characteristic information corresponding to the user plane network element; and / or, the first network element stores identification information of at least one radio access network and DIP instance static characteristic information corresponding to the radio access network.

[0271] In a possible implementation, the determining module 520, in determining the DIP instance information of the DIP instance that can be supported by the first radio access network based on the DIP instance static characteristic information of the first radio access network, is specifically configured to:

[0272] The third information acquisition request is sent to a storage network element, and the third information acquisition request includes DIP instance static characteristic information of the first radio access network.

[0273] The third information acquisition response is received from the storage network element, and the third information acquisition response includes DIP instance information corresponding to the DIP instance static characteristic information of the first radio access network.

[0274] In a possible implementation, the determining module 520, in determining the first user plane network element that supports DIP transmission with the first radio access network based on the DIP instance information, is specifically configured to:

[0275] The first DIP instance of the first radio access network for DIP transmission is determined based on the DIP instance information.

[0276] The first user plane network element corresponding to the first DIP instance is requested from the first network element.

[0277] The identification information of the first user plane network element is received from the first network element.

[0278] The first user plane network element is determined based on the identification information of the first user plane network element.

[0279] In a possible implementation, referring to FIG. 5, the third network element 500 further includes a receiving module 530, configured to receive the DIP instance static characteristic information of the first radio access network sent by the second network element.

[0280] In a possible implementation, the second network element stores identification information of at least one radio access network and static characteristic information of a DIP instance corresponding to the radio access network.

[0281] In a possible implementation, the static characteristic information of the DIP instance includes identification information of the DIP instance.

[0282] In a possible implementation, the static characteristic information of the DIP instance further includes a correspondence between identification information of a radio access network corresponding to the DIP instance and identification information of a user plane network element corresponding to the DIP instance. The identification information of the user plane network element that accesses the same DIP instance as the first radio access network is determined based on the identification information of the first radio access network and the correspondence.

[0283] In a possible implementation, the receiving module 530 is further configured to receive a user plane network element modification request sent by a trigger network element, where the user plane network element modification request includes DIP instance information to which a service flow is currently bound and DIP instance information to which the service flow is expected to be bound. The determining module 520 is further configured to determine, based on the DIP instance information to which the service flow is currently bound and the DIP instance information to which the service flow is expected to be bound, whether to modify the user plane network element of the service flow. When it is determined to modify the user plane network element of the service flow, the determining module 520 is further configured to re-determine the user plane network element of the service flow, and send a modification confirmation response to the trigger network element. When it is determined not to modify the user plane network element of the service flow, the determining module 520 is further configured to send a modification request response to the trigger network element.

[0284] The above description of the modules can refer to the description of the method for selecting a user plane network element, which will not be repeated here.

[0285] Referring to FIG. 6, FIG. 6 is a structural diagram of another third network element according to an embodiment of the present application. The third network element 600 includes a processor 610 and an interface circuit 620. The processor 610 and the interface circuit 620 are coupled to each other. It can be understood that the interface circuit 620 can be a transceiver or an input / output interface. Optionally, the third network element 600 can further include a memory 630 for storing instructions executed by the processor 610 or storing input data required by the processor 610 for running instructions or storing data generated after the processor 610 runs instructions. The memory 630 can be one or more, and the processor 610 can be one or more.

[0286] When the third network element 600 is configured to implement the functions of the method shown in FIG. 2, the processor 610 is configured to implement the functions of the determining module 520, and the interface circuit 620 is configured to implement the functions of the obtaining module 510 and the receiving module 530.

[0287] When the third network element 600 is a chip applied to a network device, the network device chip implements the functions of the network device in the method embodiments. The network device chip receives information from other modules (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna) in the network device, and the information is sent by a terminal device to the network device; or the network device chip sends information to other modules (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna) in the network device, and the information is sent by the network device to the terminal device.

[0288] Exemplarily, the third network element 600 can be a chip or a chip system.

[0289] It can be understood that the processor 610 in the embodiments of the present application can be a central processing unit (CPU), and can also be other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSP), application specific integrated circuits (ASIC), field programmable gate arrays (FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components or any combination thereof. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0290] The memory 630 can be a read only memory (ROM), a static storage device, a dynamic storage device or a random access memory (RAM). The memory 630 can store programs, and when the programs stored in the memory 630 are executed by the processor 610, the processor 610 is used to execute the steps of the user plane network element selection method described in any of the embodiments.

[0291] The present application also provides a communication system, and the communication system comprises the third network element described in any of the embodiments.

[0292] The method steps in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented by hardware or by a processor executing software instructions. The software instructions can be composed of corresponding software modules, which can be stored in a random access memory, a flash memory, a read-only memory, a programmable read-only memory, an erasable programmable read-only memory, an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory, a register, a hard disk, a mobile hard disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium well known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor, so that the processor can read information from the storage medium and write information to the storage medium. Of course, the storage medium can also be an integral part of the processor. The processor and the storage medium can be located in an ASIC. In addition, the ASIC can be located in a network device or a terminal device. Of course, the processor and the storage medium can also exist as discrete components in a network device or a terminal device.

[0293] In the above embodiments, all or part of the embodiments can be implemented by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented by software, all or part of the embodiments can be implemented in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer programs or instructions. When the computer programs or instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are performed. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, a network device, a user equipment, or other programmable apparatus. The computer programs or instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transferred from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium, for example, the computer programs or instructions can be transferred from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center through a wired or wireless manner. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server, data center, etc. that integrates one or more available media. The available media can be a magnetic medium, for example, a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape; an optical medium, for example, a digital video disc; or a semiconductor medium, for example, a solid-state disk.

[0294] In various embodiments of the present application, the terms and / or descriptions of different embodiments are consistent and can be mutually referred to if there is no special description and no logical conflict. The technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationship.

Claims

1. A method for selecting user plane network elements, characterized in that, The method includes: Obtain the identification information of the first wireless access network or the static characteristic information of the deterministic Internet of Things (IIoT) instance that the first wireless access network can support access to, wherein the deterministic IIoT instance is a subnet of the deterministic IIoT transport network. Based on the identification information of the first wireless access network or the static feature information of the deterministic Internet of Things (IoT) instance of the first wireless access network, determine the deterministic IoT instance information of the deterministic IoT instance that the first wireless access network can support access. Based on the deterministic Internet Protocol instance information, a first user plane network element is determined that supports deterministic Internet Protocol transmission with the first radio access network.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The determination of the deterministic Internet Protocol instance information for the deterministic Internet Protocol instances that the first radio access network can support based on the identification information of the first radio access network includes: Send a first information acquisition request to the first network element, wherein the first information acquisition request includes the identification information of the first wireless access network; The system receives a first information acquisition response sent by the first network element. The first information acquisition response includes the identification information of the user plane network element that accesses the same deterministic Internet Protocol instance as the first radio access network and the static feature information of the deterministic Internet Protocol instance corresponding to the user plane network element. Send a second information acquisition request to the storage network element, the second information acquisition request including static feature information of the deterministic Internet Protocol instance corresponding to the user plane network element; The system receives a second information acquisition response sent by the storage network element. The second information acquisition response includes the deterministic Internet Protocol instance information, which corresponds to the static feature information of the deterministic Internet Protocol instance corresponding to the user plane network element.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that, The first network element stores identification information of at least one user plane network element and static characteristic information of a deterministic Internet Protocol instance corresponding to the user plane network element, and / or, the first network element stores identification information of at least one radio access network and static characteristic information of a deterministic Internet Protocol instance corresponding to the radio access network.

4. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The determination of the deterministic Internet of Things (IoT) instance information of the deterministic IoT instances that the first wireless access network can support based on the static feature information of the deterministic IoT instances of the first wireless access network includes: Send a third information acquisition request to the storage network element, the third information acquisition request including the static feature information of the deterministic Internet Protocol instance of the first wireless access network; The system receives a third information acquisition response sent by the storage network element. The third information acquisition response includes the deterministic Internet Protocol instance information, which corresponds to the deterministic Internet Protocol instance static feature information of the first radio access network.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that, The step of determining the first user plane network element that supports deterministic Internet Protocol (IP) transmission with the first radio access network based on the deterministic Internet Protocol instance information includes: Based on the deterministic Internet Protocol instance information, a first deterministic Internet Protocol instance is determined for the first radio access network to perform deterministic Internet Protocol transmission. Request the first network element to discover the first user plane network element corresponding to the first deterministic Internet Protocol instance; Receive the identification information of the first user plane network element sent by the first network element; The first user plane network element is determined based on its identification information.

6. The method according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receive static feature information of the deterministic Internet Protocol instance of the first wireless access network sent by the second network element.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that, The second network element stores the identification information of at least one radio access network and the static characteristic information of the deterministic Internet Protocol instance corresponding to the radio access network.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1-7, characterized in that, The static characteristic information of the deterministic Internet Protocol instance includes the identification information of the deterministic Internet Protocol instance.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that, The static feature information of the deterministic Internet Protocol instance also includes the correspondence between the identification information of the radio access network corresponding to the deterministic Internet Protocol instance and the identification information of the user plane network element corresponding to the deterministic Internet Protocol instance. The identification information of the user plane network element that accesses the same deterministic Internet Protocol instance as the first radio access network is determined based on the identification information of the first radio access network and the corresponding relationship.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1-9, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receive a user plane network element modification request sent by the triggering network element. The user plane network element modification request includes the deterministic Internet Protocol instance information currently bound to the service flow and the deterministic Internet Protocol instance information that the service flow is expected to be bound to. Based on the deterministic Internet Protocol instance information currently bound to the service flow and the deterministic Internet Protocol instance information that the service flow is expected to be bound to, determine whether to modify the user plane network element of the service flow; When it is determined that the user plane network element of the service flow needs to be modified, the user plane network element of the service flow is re-determined, and a modification confirmation response is sent to the triggering network element. When it is determined that the user plane network element of the service flow should not be modified, a modification request response is sent to the triggering network element.

11. A method for selecting user plane network elements, characterized in that, The method is applied to a communication system, the communication system including a first wireless access network, a first network element, a third network element, and a storage network element, the method comprising: The third network element obtains the identification information of the first wireless access network; The third network element sends a first information acquisition request to the first network element, and the first information acquisition request includes the identification information of the first wireless access network; The first network element sends a first information acquisition response to the third network element. The first information acquisition response includes the identification information of the user plane network element that is connected to the same deterministic Internet Protocol instance as the first radio access network and the static feature information of the deterministic Internet Protocol instance corresponding to the user plane network element. The deterministic Internet Protocol instance is a subnet of the deterministic Internet Protocol transport network. The third network element sends a second information acquisition request to the storage network element. The second information acquisition request includes static feature information of the deterministic Internet Protocol instance corresponding to the user plane network element. The storage network element sends a second information acquisition response to the third network element. The second information acquisition response includes deterministic Internet Protocol instance information, which corresponds to the deterministic Internet Protocol instance static feature information corresponding to the user plane network element. The third network element determines a first user plane network element that supports deterministic Internet Protocol (IP) transmission with the first radio access network based on the deterministic Internet Protocol instance information.

12. A communication system, characterized in that, The communication system includes a first wireless access network, a first network element, a third network element, and a storage network element, wherein, The third network element is used to obtain the identification information of the first wireless access network; The third network element is also used to send a first information acquisition request to the first network element, wherein the first information acquisition request includes the identification information of the first wireless access network; The first network element is used to send a first information acquisition response to the third network element. The first information acquisition response includes the identification information of the user plane network element that is connected to the same deterministic Internet Protocol instance as the first radio access network and the static feature information of the deterministic Internet Protocol instance corresponding to the user plane network element. The deterministic Internet Protocol instance is a subnet of the deterministic Internet Protocol transport network. The third network element is also used to send a second information acquisition request to the storage network element, the second information acquisition request including static feature information of the deterministic Internet Protocol instance corresponding to the user plane network element; The storage network element is used to send a second information acquisition response to the third network element. The second information acquisition response includes deterministic Internet Protocol instance information, which corresponds to the deterministic Internet Protocol instance static feature information corresponding to the user plane network element. The third network element is also used to determine, based on the deterministic Internet Protocol instance information, a first user plane network element that supports deterministic Internet Protocol transmission with the first radio access network.

13. A method for selecting user plane network elements, characterized in that, The method is applied to a communication system, the communication system including a first wireless access network, a third network element, and a storage network element, the method comprising: The third network element obtains the static feature information of the deterministic Internet of Things (IIoT) instance that the first wireless access network can support access to, wherein the deterministic IIoT instance is a subnet of the deterministic IIoT transport network. The third network element sends a third information acquisition request to the storage network element, the third information acquisition request including the static feature information of the deterministic Internet Protocol instance of the first wireless access network; The storage network element sends a third information acquisition response to the third network element. The third information acquisition response includes deterministic Internet Protocol instance information, which corresponds to the deterministic Internet Protocol instance static feature information of the first radio access network. The third network element determines a first user plane network element that supports deterministic Internet Protocol (IP) transmission with the first radio access network based on the deterministic Internet Protocol instance information.

14. A communication system, characterized in that, The communication system includes a first wireless access network, a third network element, and a storage network element, wherein... The third network element is used to obtain the static feature information of the deterministic Internet of Things (IIoT) instance that the first wireless access network can support access to, wherein the deterministic IIoT instance is a subnet of the deterministic IIoT transport network. The third network element is also used to send a third information acquisition request to the storage network element, the third information acquisition request including the static feature information of the deterministic Internet Protocol instance of the first wireless access network; The storage network element is used to send a third information acquisition response to the third network element. The third information acquisition response includes deterministic Internet Protocol instance information, which corresponds to the deterministic Internet Protocol instance static feature information of the first radio access network. The third network element is also used to determine, based on the deterministic Internet Protocol instance information, a first user plane network element that supports deterministic Internet Protocol transmission with the first radio access network.

15. A third network element, characterized in that, The third network element includes a unit or module for performing the user plane network element selection method according to any one of claims 1-10.

16. A third network element, characterized in that, The device includes a processor and a memory, wherein the processor and the memory are connected together, wherein the memory is used to store program code, and the processor is used to call the program code to execute the user plane network element selection method as described in any one of claims 1-10.

17. A communication system, characterized in that, The communication system includes the third network element as described in claim 15 or 16.

18. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program that is executed by a processor to implement the user plane network element selection method as described in any one of claims 1-10.

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