Service processing method, network element, and storage medium

Abstract

The present application belongs to the technical field of communications. Provided are a service processing method, a network element, and a storage medium. The method is applied to a first SMF, and comprises: receiving a session establishment request of a user equipment, and on the basis of the session establishment request, acquiring target second SMF information of a subnet which supports an edge service (S101); on the basis of the target second SMF information, sending, to a target second SMF, session parameter information corresponding to the session establishment request, wherein the session parameter information is used for determining decision information of a session (S102); and on the basis of the decision information returned by the target second SMF, initiating an operation of establishing the session (S103).

Description

Business processing method, network element and storage medium

[0001] Cross-reference to related applications

[0002] This application is based on the Chinese patent application with the application number 2024112327821 and the application date of September 3, 2024, and claims the priority of the Chinese patent application, the entire content of which is hereby incorporated by reference into the present application. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0003] Embodiments of the present application relate to the field of communication technology, in particular to a business processing method, a network element and a storage medium. BACKGROUND

[0004] 5G networks have gradually been applied to various fields, providing flexible and diverse business experiences for different users and scenarios. With the emergence of new businesses, new scenarios and the rapid development of new technologies, more and more specific networks or edge networks appear.

[0005] In the traditional network architecture of 5G, although the sinking of the user plane function (UPF) provides a network architecture basis for edge computing, the edge network, i.e., the coupling degree of the subnetwork and the large network is high, and the subnetwork and the large network must be upgraded and deployed uniformly to start the edge business of the subnetwork. The subnetwork cannot realize closed-loop management, which greatly limits the development of edge business. SUMMARY

[0006] Embodiments of the present application provide a business processing method, a network element and a storage medium.

[0007] In a first aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a business processing method, which is applied to a first SMF, and the method comprises:

[0008] receiving a session establishment request of a user equipment, obtaining target second SMF information of a subnetwork supporting edge business based on the session establishment request;

[0009] sending session parameter information corresponding to the session establishment request to the target second SMF based on the target second SMF information, wherein the session parameter information is used to determine decision information of a session;

[0010] initiating an operation of establishing the session based on the decision information returned by the target second SMF.

[0011] In a second aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a business processing method, which is applied to a target second SMF, and the target second SMF is deployed in a subnetwork supporting edge business of a user equipment, and the method comprises:

[0012] receive session parameter information sent by a first SMF, wherein the session parameter information is determined by the first SMF according to a session establishment request of the user equipment, and the session establishment request is used to establish a session of a bearer edge service for the user equipment;

[0013] determine decision information according to the session parameter information;

[0014] return the decision information to the first SMF, wherein the decision information is used to initiate an operation of establishing a session.

[0015] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a network element, which comprises a processor, a memory, a computer program stored in the memory and executable by the processor, and a data bus used to realize connection communication between the processor and the memory, wherein the computer program is executed by the processor to realize steps of any one of the service processing methods provided in the specification of the present application.

[0016] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a storage medium used for computer readable storage, wherein the storage medium stores one or more programs, and the one or more programs are executable by one or more processors to realize steps of any one of the service processing methods provided in the specification of the present application. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0017] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, the drawings needed in the embodiment description will be briefly introduced. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are some embodiments of the present application, and other drawings can also be obtained by those skilled in the art without creative labor.

[0018] FIG. 1 is a flow diagram of a service processing method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0019] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a network architecture to which the service processing method provided by the present application is applied;

[0020] FIG. 3 is another schematic diagram of a network architecture to which the service processing method provided by the present application is applied;

[0021] FIG. 4 is a scene example diagram of the service processing method provided by an embodiment of the present application under a single UPF architecture;

[0022] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of determining a target second SMF provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0023] FIG. 6 is another schematic diagram of determining a target second SMF provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0024] FIG. 7 is a flow diagram of establishing a dedicated quality service flow according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0025] FIG. 8 is a diagram of establishing a dedicated quality service flow according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0026] FIG. 9 is another flow diagram of a service processing method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0027] FIG. 10 is a diagram of performing session update based on a first session update request according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0028] FIG. 11 is another flow diagram of storing service relationship between a target second SMF and a subnet according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0029] FIG. 12 is another flow diagram of establishing a dedicated quality service flow according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0030] FIG. 13 is a diagram of a scenario of a service processing method according to an embodiment of the present application under a multi-UPF architecture;

[0031] FIG. 14 is a diagram of key policy definition between a first SMF and a target second SMF according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0032] FIG. 15 is a schematic block diagram of a network element according to an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0033] In order to make the objectives, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present application clearer, the embodiments of the present application are further described in detail below with reference to the drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only used to explain the embodiments of the present application, and are not used to limit the embodiments of the present application.

[0034] It should be noted that although the functional modules are divided in the device schematic diagram, and the logical order is shown in the flowchart, in some cases, the steps shown or described can be executed in a manner different from the module division in the device or the order in the flowchart. The terms "first", "second", and the like in the specification and claims and the above-described drawings are used to distinguish similar objects, and do not necessarily describe a specific order or sequence.

[0035] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which the embodiments of the present application belong. The terms used herein are only for the purpose of describing the embodiments of the present application, and are not intended to limit the embodiments of the present application.

[0036] First, the terms involved in the embodiments of the present application are analyzed:

[0037] Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF): a function for providing user access and mobility management.

[0038] User Plane Function (UPF): responsible for the routing and forwarding of user plane data packets.

[0039] Session Management Function (SMF): a function for providing control and management of sessions.

[0040] Unified Data Management (UDM): responsible for the management and distribution of user information and user subscription information.

[0041] Network Repository Function (NRF): responsible for the registration and management of network functions, and also supports service discovery functions.

[0042] Network Exposure Function (NEF): responsible for exposing network capabilities and events to external applications.

[0043] Policy Control Function (PCF): responsible for the formulation and control of network policies.

[0044] Unified Data Repository (UDR): a centralized database responsible for centralized management of various network data.

[0045] Network Control Unit: a unified aggregation of network control function entities, such as the logical processing part of AMF, SMF, NEF, PCF, and UDM in the 5G network, is a network element.

[0046] Network Data Unit: a unified aggregation of the data plane, such as the static subscription data of PCF and UDM, UDR, etc. in the 5G network, is a network element.

[0047] Network Warehouse Unit: also known as Network Function Registration Unit, is a function entity for managing network service registration and providing service query, such as NRF in the 5G network, is a network element.

[0048] Central subnet: generally refers to a subnet in a central position in the network architecture, also known as a large network. It is responsible for communication with multiple branch or radial subnets, i.e. distributed subnets. In enterprise or data center networks, the large network may include key network devices such as routers, switches or virtual network switches, which are responsible for data forwarding and network interconnection.

[0049] Distributed subnet: a network that is distributed in advance according to the characteristics of the business and the demand of the business on the network, which can be referred to as a subnet. For example, an enterprise network deployed to provide enterprise characteristic services for enterprise business, a park network deployed to provide park characteristic services for park business, an XR business network deployed to provide immersive experience services for XR business, and other characteristic networks deployed to provide characteristic services for characteristic businesses, wherein XR business refers to a business that combines the real world with the virtual world through virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR) technology. That is, a subnet generally serves a certain or several specific areas, and the network services within the subnet can serve the subnet or provide characteristic services in cooperation with the central network (i.e. core network) or other subnets. In addition to providing basic connection services, the subnet can be customized according to different scenarios to meet the needs of vertical industry sinking, network high reliability, low deployment cost, network simplicity, etc. The characteristic services supported by the subnet can be collectively referred to as subnet business.

[0050] 5G networks have been gradually applied to various fields to provide flexible and diverse business experiences for different users and scenarios. With the emergence of new businesses, new scenarios and the rapid development of new technologies, more and more specific networks or edge networks appear.

[0051] In the traditional network architecture of 5G, although the sinking of UPF provides a network architecture basis for edge computing, the edge network, i.e. the coupling degree of the subnet and the large network is high, and the subnet and the large network must be upgraded and deployed uniformly to start the edge business of the subnet. The subnet cannot realize closed-loop management, which greatly limits the development of edge business.

[0052] To this end, an embodiment of the present application provides a service processing method, a network element and a storage medium. The service processing method is applied to a first SMF, the first SMF is deployed in a large network, a target second SMF is deployed in a subnetwork supporting edge services, the first SMF receives a session establishment request from a user equipment, and target second SMF information of the subnetwork supporting edge services is obtained based on the session establishment request. Based on the target second SMF information, session parameter information corresponding to the session establishment request can be sent to the target second SMF, the session parameter information is used to determine decision information of the session, and then the target second SMF returns the decision information to the first SMF. The first SMF initiates an operation of establishing the session based on the decision information, so that the user equipment implements transmission of the edge services based on the session. In the embodiment of the present application, the target second SMF is arranged in the subnetwork supporting edge services, so that the configuration and management of the edge services are performed through the target second SMF, the influence range of online new functions of the edge services can be controlled in the subnetwork, closed-loop management of the edge services is formed, and therefore, the services of the subnetwork can be iteratively enriched without affecting the services of the large network and other subnetworks, and the development level of the edge services is improved.

[0053] Some embodiments of the present application will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the case of no conflict, the embodiments described below and the features in the embodiments can be combined with each other.

[0054] Please refer to FIG. 1, which is a flowchart of a service processing method provided by an embodiment of the present application. The service processing method is applied to a first SMF, as shown in FIG. 1, and includes steps S101 to S103.

[0055] In step S101, a session establishment request of a user equipment is received, and target second SMF information of a subnetwork supporting edge services is obtained based on the session establishment request.

[0056] It should be noted that the first SMF is deployed in a large network. The second SMF is deployed in a subnetwork, and the second SMF corresponds to the subnetwork. Different subnetworks support different edge services, and each subnetwork is deployed by a corresponding second SMF. The subnetwork where the target second SMF is located supports edge services corresponding to the session establishment request.

[0057] Referring to FIG. 2, which is a schematic diagram of a network architecture applying the service processing method provided by an embodiment of the present application. The network architecture shown in FIG. 2 is a single UPF architecture, and only the Serving SMF, i.e., the second SMF selects the edge UPF, and the edge UPF simultaneously interfaces with the central DN (Distributed Network, DN) and the local DN. The central DN is a central subnetwork, i.e., a large network, and the local DN is a subnetwork. Alternatively, the edge UPF only interfaces with the local DN.

[0058] In addition, referring to FIG. 2, the UPF and the second SMF communicate through an N4 interface. The N4 interface is a key interface for control plane and forwarding plane separation in a 5G or 6G core network, and plays a crucial role in the 5G or 6G network. The N4 interface mainly connects the SMF and the UPF, and is responsible for functions such as real-time traffic statistics reporting, session establishment, and policy execution. The first SMF and the second SMF communicate key session information based on an N16 interface.

[0059] In the network architecture shown in FIG. 2, three subnets are provided, and the second SMF is deployed in each subnet. The first SMF can communicate with multiple second SMFs, for example, the second SMF corresponding to the subnet in which the UPF of enterprise A in FIG. 2 is located and the second SMF corresponding to the subnet in which the UPF of enterprise B is located are in communication connection with the same first SMF. In addition, the number of UPFs in each subnet can be one or multiple, for example, the UPF of enterprise C and the UPF of enterprise D are located in the same subnet.

[0060] Referring to FIG. 3, FIG. 3 is another schematic diagram of a network architecture to which the service processing method provided by the embodiments of the present application is applied. The network architecture shown in FIG. 3 is a multi-UPF architecture. In addition to the serving SMF, i.e., the second SMF selecting an edge UPF, the SMF deployed in the large network also selects a large network UPF. The shared UPF / ULCL (Uplink Classifier, user plane data shunting function) in FIG. 3 is the large network UPF. The large network UPF identifies the service, thereby achieving data differentiation. For edge services that need to be processed by the edge UPF, the large network UPF shunts the edge services to the edge UPF based on the target IP address (Internet Protocol Address) or the domain name resolution system (Domain Name System, DNS), and the edge UPF directly accesses the edge service. For non-edge services, the large network UPF routes the non-edge services to the Internet directly. In the multi-UPF architecture, the large network UPF can also not export the Internet, and all services are shunted to the edge UPF, and the edge UPF accesses the edge service server and the Internet network at the same time.

[0061] Whether it is the single UPF architecture shown in FIG. 2 or the multi-UPF architecture shown in FIG. 3, the session management is realized by a large network SMF, i.e., a first SMF, which interfaces with network elements such as an AMF, a PCF, a UDM, an NRF, etc., while a second SMF is only responsible for the management and configuration of the corresponding edge service. The function implemented by the second SMF is a value-added and superimposed function of the basic session management function, and accordingly, in the network architecture, the second SMF is selected by the first SMF and acts as a post-inserted SMF of the large network SMF. In other words, the first SMF is responsible for the basic session management, and the second SMF cooperates with the first SMF to carry out the edge service function.

[0062] It should be noted that the session establishment request received by the first SMF from the user equipment is forwarded by the AMF. Specifically, referring to FIG. 4, the AMF and the SMF are located in the central network, i.e., the large network. The user equipment UE sends a PDU session establishment request (PDU Session Establishment Request) to the AMF, wherein the PDU (Protocol Data Unit) session is a communication session established between the user equipment and the data network in the 5G or 6G network, and is used to transmit data between the user equipment and the data network. The AMF receives the PDU session establishment request of the user equipment UE, and if the PDU session establishment request is to create a new session, performs an SMF selection process to select a first SMF for the session. Then, the AMF sends an Nsmf PDU session management context establishment request (Nsmf_PDUSession_CreateSMContext Request) message to the first SMF to request the establishment of the PDU session. After the SMF receives the Nsmf PDU session management context establishment request from the AMF, a new PDU session corresponding to the Nsmf PDU session management context establishment request is established, and the corresponding subnet of the SMF can perform the edge service corresponding to the Nsmf PDU session management context establishment request. The AMF returns a response (Nsmf_PDUSession_CreateSMContext Response) corresponding to the session establishment request. Then, the above messages are processed to establish the session.

[0063] It should be noted that based on the session establishment request, the edge service corresponding to the session establishment request is first determined to obtain the target second SMF information of the subnet supporting the service. The target second SMF information is related information of the target second SMF of the subnet supporting the edge service, and the target second SMF information at least includes the address of the target second SMF.

[0064] At step S102, the session parameter information corresponding to the session establishment request is sent to the target second SMF based on the target second SMF information, where the session parameter information is used to determine the decision information of the session.

[0065] The session parameter information corresponding to the session establishment request can be obtained by a PCF, i.e., a policy control function. Specifically, referring to FIG. 4, the first SMF sends a session management control policy creation request (Npcf_SMPolicyControl_Create Request) message to the PCF, and the PCF returns a session management control policy creation response (Npcf_SMPolicyControl_Create Response) message. The first SMF establishes an SM (Session Management) policy association with the PCF through the above messages and completes policy distribution, and then obtains the session parameter information corresponding to the session establishment request from the PCF.

[0066] It should be noted that the target second SMF information at least includes the address of the target second SMF, so that the first SMF can send the session parameter information to the target second SMF based on the target second SMF information. After receiving the session parameter information, the target second SMF processes the session parameter information and then determines the decision information of the session.

[0067] Referring to FIG. 4, the first SMF sends an Nsmf PDU session establishment request (Nsmf_PDUSession_Create Request) message to the target second SMF, where the message carries the session parameter information corresponding to the session establishment message. Then, the target second SMF generates a session management context request according to the session parameter information, and sends the session management context request, i.e., an N4 session establishment request (N4 Session Establishment Request) in FIG. 4, to an edge user plane function (UPF) corresponding to the target second SMF. The edge UPF returns an N4 session establishment response (N4 Session Establishment Response) to the target second SMF to bring the session tunnel information to the target second SMF. The target second SMF can configure the decision information according to the session parameter information and the session tunnel information, and send an Nsmf PDU session establishment response (Nsmf_PDUSession_Create Response) message carrying the decision information to the first SMF. The message mainly includes a PDU session identifier (PDU Session ID), an access type (Access Type), N2 session management information (N2 SM information), an N1 session management container (N1 SM container), etc.

[0068] It should be noted that the decision information at least includes session tunnel information, and in addition, the decision information further includes a PDU session identifier, an access type, N2 session management information, an N1 session management container, and the like.

[0069] In step S103, an operation of establishing a session is initiated based on the decision information returned by the target second SMF.

[0070] According to the received decision information, the first SMF can initiate the operation of establishing a session, thereby completing the establishment of the PDU session.

[0071] The steps S101 to S103 shown in the embodiments of the present application are as follows: the first SMF is deployed in a large network, the target second SMF is deployed in a subnetwork supporting edge services, the first SMF receives a session establishment request from a user equipment, and target second SMF information of the subnetwork supporting edge services is obtained based on the session establishment request. Based on the target second SMF information, session parameter information corresponding to the session establishment request can be sent to the target second SMF, the session parameter information is used to determine decision information of the session, and then the target second SMF returns the decision information to the first SMF. The first SMF initiates an operation of establishing a session based on the decision information, so that the user equipment can realize transmission of edge services based on the session. In the embodiments of the present application, the target second SMF is arranged in the subnetwork supporting edge services, so that the configuration and management of edge services are performed through the target second SMF. The influence range of the online new function of edge services can be controlled in the subnetwork, closed-loop management of edge services is formed, and therefore, on the premise of not affecting the services of the large network and other subnetworks, the services of the subnetwork can be iteratively enriched, and the development level of edge services is improved.

[0072] In step S101 of some embodiments, subscription information of a user equipment can be obtained from a unified data management (UDM). A subnetwork supporting edge services is determined according to the subscription information. A second SMF information set is obtained from a network repository function (NRF) based on the subnetwork, wherein at least two second SMFs support services of the subnetwork, and the second SMF information set includes at least two second SMF information. Target second SMF information is selected from the second SMF information set.

[0073] It should be noted that the unified data management (UDM) stores subscription information, and the subscription information contains edge services supported by a plurality of subnetworks corresponding to a large network, such as that subnetwork A supports edge service A, and subnetwork B supports edge service XR, and the like. Therefore, according to the edge service corresponding to the session establishment request, the edge service supporting subnetwork can be determined by searching in the subscription information.

[0074] The network warehouse function NRF stores second SMF information corresponding to each subnet, and multiple second SMFs support services of the subnet, so that based on the subnet, a second SMF information set can be obtained from the network warehouse function NRF. The second SMF information set includes at least two second SMF information, and at least two second SMFs corresponding to the second SMF information set support services of the subnet. Then, the second SMF information set can be screened to obtain target second SMF information.

[0075] It should be noted that, referring to FIG. 4, in step a3, the first SMF obtains subscription information (Subscription) from the UDM.

[0076] Specifically, referring to FIG. 5, the AMF and the first SMF are centrally deployed in a central subnet, that is, a large network. The second SMF and the UPF are distributedly deployed, and a distributed subnet A-1 is a subnet instance that can provide subnet A services, that is, edge services. A user subscribes to a subnet service, and the centrally deployed first SMF selects the distributed subnet A-1 to provide a subnet service for the user. The process is specifically as follows:

[0077] b1, the user subscribes to the subnet A in the UDM, and the subnet A can provide a type of edge service, such as an XR service.

[0078] b2, the distributedly deployed second SMF can provide the subnet A service, and related information of the subnet A is configured on the second SMF.

[0079] b3, the second SMF carries serviceable subnet information, and initiates a service capability registration request to the NRF.

[0080] b4, the user is online, and the AMF selects the first SMF.

[0081] b5, the first SMF obtains user session related subscription information from the UDM.

[0082] b6, the UDM returns the requested subscription information to the first SMF, which includes that the user subscribes to the subnet A.

[0083] b7, the first SMF sends a service discovery request to the NRF, carries user subscription information of the subnet A, and expects to discover the distributedly deployed second SMF that can service the subnet A.

[0084] b8, the NRF discovers the distributedly deployed second SMF that can service the subnet A, and returns the first SMF of the central subnet through a service discovery response message.

[0085] b9, the first SMF sends a service request to the distributedly deployed second SMF that can service the subnet A, and requests to establish a session.

[0086] b10. After receiving the session establishment request, the second SMF obtains user session related subscription information from the UDM.

[0087] b11. The UDM returns the requested subscription information to the second SMF, including detailed information of the user-subscribed subnet A.

[0088] b12. The second SMF selects an edge UPF according to the detailed subscription information of the user session.

[0089] b13. The second SMF sends a PFCP (Packet Forwarding Control Protocol) session establishment request to the UPF.

[0090] In addition, the selection of the subnet can also refer to FIG. 6. In the application scenario shown in FIG. 6, the network control unit A is centrally deployed and is deployed in a large network. The network control unit B is distributedly deployed in a subnet. The process of selecting the subnet is as follows:

[0091] The user subscribes to the subnet service supported by the subnet, i.e., the edge service, to generate subscription data of the subnet. The subscription data is managed and stored by the network data unit.

[0092] The network control unit B can serve the subnet. The network control unit B configures an identifier of the subnet.

[0093] The network control unit B sends a registration request to the network function registration unit. The registration request carries the identifier of the subnet.

[0094] The network function registration unit receives the registration request, registers the service capability of the network control unit B serving the subnet, obtains registration information of the network control unit B serving the subnet, and stores the registration information.

[0095] The network control unit A responds to the user's subnet service request and sends a user subscription information acquisition request to the network data unit. The user subscription information acquisition request carries an identifier of the user.

[0096] The network data unit receives the user's subscription information acquisition request, queries the user's subscription information based on the identifier of the user in response to the user's subscription information acquisition request, returns a subscription information acquisition response to the network control unit A, and the subscription information acquisition response carries the subscription information of the user.

[0097] The network control unit A receives the subscription information acquisition response, obtains the subscription information of the user, and determines the subnet subscribed by the user from the subscription information of the user.

[0098] The network control unit A sends a service discovery request to the network function registration unit. The service discovery request carries the identifier of the subnet subscribed by the user.

[0099] The network function registration unit receives a service discovery request, in response to the service discovery request, queries the registration information of the network control unit B service subnet based on the identification of the subnet, and returns a service discovery response to the network control unit A, the service discovery response carrying the network control unit B.

[0100] The network control unit A receives the service discovery response, determines the network control unit B service subnet, and sends a service request to the network control unit B.

[0101] The network control unit B receives the service request, in response to the service request, obtains the detail information of the subnet from the network data unit, then selects the network processing unit deployed in the subnet, and cooperates with the network processing unit based on the detail information of the subnet to provide the service of the subnet for the user.

[0102] In the above manner, the target second SMF information of the subnet supporting the edge service can be determined, and the configuration and management of the edge service are realized through the target second SMF, forming a closed-loop management of the edge service, so that the service of the subnet can be continuously iterated and enriched without affecting the big network service and other subnet services, and the development level of the edge service is improved.

[0103] In step S103 of some embodiments, a first session update request can be generated based on the decision information, and the first session update request is sent to the target second SMF, wherein the first session update request is used for the target second SMF to perform session update. Based on the first session update response returned by the target second SMF, a session context update response is sent to an access and mobility management function AMF, wherein the session context update response is used to notify the AMF that the session establishment is completed.

[0104] It should be noted that the first SMF can generate the first session update request based on the decision information. After the first session update request is generated, the first SMF sends the first session update request to the target second SMF. After receiving the first session update request sent by the first SMF, the target second SMF cooperates with the edge UPF to perform session update based on the first session update request. After determining that the session update is completed, the first session update response is returned to the first SMF. Based on the first session update response returned by the target second SMF, the first SMF sends a session context update response to an access and mobility management function AMF.

[0105] Referring to FIG. 4, in step a15, the first SMF sends a first session update request to the second SMF. Then, the target second SMF sends a PFCP session modification request to the edge UPF, and the edge UPF returns a PFCP session modification response to the target second SMF, so as to achieve cooperative execution of session update. The target second SMF sends a first session update response to the first SMF. The first SMF sends an Nsmf PDU session context update response (Nsmf_PDUSession_UpdateSMContext Response) to an access and mobility management function (AMF) based on the first session update response returned by the target second SMF.

[0106] In the foregoing manner, based on the operation of initiating establishment of the session by the first SMF and the target second SMF, in the process, the first SMF delivers the basic information of the session and the key signaling for identifying the edge service to the target second SMF, and the target second SMF is only responsible for management and configuration of the edge service, and can control the influence range of online of the new function of the edge service within the subnet, form closed-loop management of the edge service, and thus can continuously iterate and enrich the services of the subnet without affecting the services of the large network and other subnets, and improve the development level of the edge service.

[0107] In some embodiments, the first session update request is generated based on the decision information, and a session control policy update request can be sent to a policy control function (PCF), where the session control policy update request is used for the PCF to determine an update control policy of the session; and the first session update request is generated according to the update control policy returned by the PCF and the decision information.

[0108] It should be noted that the first SMF sends a session control policy update request to a policy control function (PCF). The PCF determines an update control policy of the session based on the session control policy update request, and returns the update control policy of the session to the first SMF. The first SMF can generate the first session update request according to the update control policy and the decision information.

[0109] Specifically, referring to FIG. 4, the first SMF sends a session control policy update request (Npcf_SMPolicyControl_Update Request) message to the PCF, and the message carries a user equipment address. The PCF returns a session control policy update response (Npcf_SMPolicyControl_Update Response) message, and the response message carries an updated control policy. Then, the first SMF generates a first session update request according to the updated control policy and decision information returned by the PCF.

[0110] In the above manner, the first SMF and the PCF cooperate to generate the first session update request, and the first SMF is responsible for the related content of the edge service, thereby being capable of improving the development level of the edge service.

[0111] Referring to FIG. 7, the service processing method provided by the embodiment of the application can further include the following steps.

[0112] In step S701, a second session update request sent by a target second SMF is received, and the second session update request is used to indicate establishment of a dedicated quality service flow.

[0113] It should be noted that the target second SMF is responsible for local services, that is, policy control and management of edge services of a corresponding subnet, and the decision needs to establish a dedicated quality service flow (QoS flow).

[0114] The dedicated quality service flow is a quality service flow in network communication, which refers to allocation of specific bandwidth, delay, jitter and other quality of service parameters in the network for a specific data flow, to ensure the reliability and stability of data transmission. In communication, the transmission rate and delay of the data flow are affected by network congestion, bandwidth limitation and other factors, thereby causing instability and delay increase of data transmission, and affecting application experience. Application of the dedicated quality service flow can effectively solve these problems and improve the quality of network communication.

[0115] It should be noted that the second session update request received by the first SMF comes from the target second SMF.

[0116] In step S702, an operation of establishing the dedicated quality service flow is initiated based on the second session update request.

[0117] After receiving the second session update request, the first SMF can initiate the operation of establishing the dedicated quality service flow based on the second session update request.

[0118] In step S703, a second session update response is returned to the target second SMF, and the second session update response includes a result of establishing the dedicated quality service flow.

[0119] After the establishment of the dedicated quality service flow is completed, the first SMF returns a second session update response to the target second SMF to feed back the result of establishing the dedicated quality service flow.

[0120] The embodiments of the above steps S701 to S703 establish the dedicated quality service flow to ensure that the target second SMF can implement policy control of edge services.

[0121] In step S702 of some embodiments, the control policy information of the dedicated quality service flow can be delivered to the user equipment and the access network by the N1N2 message transmission service of the AMF based on the second session update request; a session context update request sent by the AMF is received, wherein the session context update request is generated based on the determination message of the user equipment and / or the access network to the control policy information of the dedicated quality service flow; a first session modification request is sent to the central UPF based on the session context update request, wherein the first session modification request is used to notify the central UPF to establish the dedicated quality service flow.

[0122] In a 5G or 6G network, N1 and N2 interfaces are used to support access mobility management of user equipment (UE) to the access network (NG-RAN gNodeB, gNB) and the central subnet. N2 is a physical interface between the terminal and the AMF, while N1 is a logical interface between the terminal and the AMF. The N1N2 message transmission service refers to the message transmission service provided by the N1 interface and the N2 interface.

[0123] Based on the second session update request, the first SMF can deliver the control policy information of the dedicated quality service flow to the user equipment and the access network through the N1N2 message transmission service of the AMF. The AMF generates a session context update request based on the determination message of the user equipment and / or the access network to the control policy information of the dedicated quality service flow, and sends the session context update request to the first SMF. The first SMF sends a first session modification request to the central UPF based on the session context update request. The central UPF is a UPF located in the central subnet, i.e., the big network.

[0124] The dedicated quality service flow is established in the above manner to ensure that the target second SMF can implement policy control of edge services.

[0125] FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of establishing a dedicated quality service flow provided by an embodiment of the present application. In the application scenario shown in FIG. 8, the dedicated quality service flow can be established according to the following steps c1 to c16.

[0126] c1, the target second SMF sends a session update request (Nsmf_PDUSession_Update Request) message to the first SMF, indicating that a dedicated quality service flow needs to be established.

[0127] c2. The first SMF sends a Namf_Communication_N1N2MessageTransfer message to the AMF to transfer the control policy information for establishing the dedicated quality service flow to the user equipment (UE) and the access network (R)AN via the AMF's NIN2 message transfer service. The message includes important information such as: PDU Session ID, Access Type, N2 SM information, N1 SM container, etc. The AMF returns an acknowledgement message after receiving the message.

[0128] c3. The AMF sends a N2 PDU Session Request message to the access network (R)AN to transfer the control policy information for establishing the dedicated quality service flow to the access network (R)AN.

[0129] c4. The access network (R)AN sends an AN-specific resource modification message to the user equipment (UE) to inform the UE of the control policy information sent by the first SMF.

[0130] c5. The access network (R)AN returns a N2 PDU Session Response message to the AMF.

[0131] c6. The AMF sends a first session context update request (Nsmf_PDUSession_UpdateSMContext Request) to the first SMF.

[0132] c7. The first SMF returns a first session context update response (Nsmf_PDUSession_UpdateSMContext Response) to the AMF.

[0133] c8. The user equipment (UE) sends a PDU session modification command (PDU Session Modification Command Ack) to the access network to inform the network side of the decision result of the UE's second session update request.

[0134] c9. The access network (R)AN sends a NAS uplink transfer message (NAS Uplink Transfer) to forward the received NAS (Non-Access-Stratum) message to the AMF, which is the message sent by the user equipment (UE).

[0135] c10. The AMF sends a second session context update request (Nsmf_PDUSession_UpdateSMContext Request) to the first SMF.

[0136] c11. The first SMF returns a second session context update response (Nsmf_PDUSession_UpdateSMContext Response) to the AMF.

[0137] c12. The first SMF sends a first session modification request (PFCP Session Modification Request) to the central UPF.

[0138] c13. The central UPF returns a first session modification response (PFCP Session Modification Response).

[0139] c14. The central UPF returns a second session update response (Nsmf_PDUSession_Update Response) to the target second SMF, and the response message carries the result of the establishment of the dedicated quality service flow.

[0140] c15. The target second SMF sends a second session modification request (PFCP Session Modification Request) to the edge UPF, for notifying the edge UPF to establish a dedicated quality service flow channel.

[0141] c16. The edge UPF returns a second session modification response (PFCP Session Modification Response) to the target second SMF.

[0142] It should be noted that the above access network (R)AN can be an access network device gNB.

[0143] In the above manner, the embodiment of the present application sets a target second SMF in a subnetwork supporting edge services, so as to configure and manage the edge services through the target second SMF, and the first SMF of the large network is used to implement basic session management. This manner can control the influence range of the online new function of the edge service in the subnetwork, and form closed-loop management of the edge service, so as to continuously iterate and enrich the services of the subnetwork without affecting the services of the large network and other subnetwork services, thereby improving the development level of the edge service.

[0144] Please refer to FIG. 9, which is another flowchart of a service processing method provided by the embodiment of the present application.

[0145] As shown in FIG. 9, the service processing method is applied to a target second SMF deployed in a subnet supporting edge services of a user equipment, and includes steps S901-S903.

[0146] In step 901, session parameter information sent by the first SMF is received, wherein the session parameter information is determined by the first SMF according to a session establishment request of the user equipment, and the session establishment request is used to establish a session carrying an edge service for the user equipment.

[0147] The session parameter information corresponds to the session establishment request, and the session establishment request is used to establish a session carrying an edge service for the user equipment. The first SMF sends the session parameter information corresponding to the session establishment request to the target second SMF. Referring to FIG. 4, in step a5, the target second SMF receives an Nsmf PDU session establishment request (Nsmf_PDUSession_Create Request) message from the first SMF, which carries the session parameter information.

[0148] In step S902, decision information is determined according to the session parameter information.

[0149] After receiving the session parameter information, the target second SMF processes the session parameter information and determines the decision information of the session.

[0150] In step S903, the decision information is returned to the first SMF, wherein the decision information is used to initiate an operation of establishing a session.

[0151] After determining the decision information, the target second SMF returns the decision information to the first SMF, so that the first SMF initiates an operation of establishing a session based on the decision information.

[0152] The steps S901-S903 shown in the embodiments of the present application are as follows: the first SMF is deployed in a large network, the target second SMF is deployed in a subnet supporting edge services, the first SMF sends session parameter information corresponding to a session establishment request to the target second SMF, the target second SMF determines decision information according to the session parameter information, and returns the decision information to the first SMF, so that the first SMF initiates an operation of establishing a session based on the decision information. The embodiments of the present application set the target second SMF in the subnet supporting edge services, so as to configure and manage the edge services through the target second SMF. The influence range of the new function of the edge services can be controlled in the subnet, and closed-loop management of the edge services is formed, so that the services of the subnet can be iteratively enriched without affecting the services of the large network and other subnets, and the development level of the edge services is improved.

[0153] In step S902 of some embodiments, a session management context request can be generated according to the session parameter information; the session management context request is sent to an edge user plane function (UPF) corresponding to the target second SMF, and the session management context request is used for the edge UPF to configure session tunnel information; the session tunnel information returned by the edge UPF is received; and decision information is configured according to the session parameter information and the session tunnel information.

[0154] It should be noted that the session management context request is generated based on the session parameter information, and the session management context request carries a control policy. The target second SMF sends the session management context request to the edge UPF corresponding to the target second SMF, so as to configure the session tunnel information through the edge UPF. After the edge UPF completes the configuration of the session tunnel information, the edge UPF sends the session tunnel information to the target second SMF, so that the target second SMF configures decision information according to the session parameter information and the session tunnel information.

[0155] Referring to FIG. 4, the first SMF sends an Nsmf PDU session establishment request (Nsmf_PDUSession_Create Request) message to the target second SMF, where the message carries session parameter information corresponding to a session establishment message. Then, the target second SMF generates a session management context request according to the session parameter information, and sends the session management context request, i.e., an N4 session establishment request (N4 Session Establishment Request) in FIG. 4, to an edge user plane function (UPF) corresponding to the target second SMF. The edge UPF returns an N4 session establishment response (N4 Session Establishment Response) to the target second SMF, so as to bring session tunnel information to the target second SMF. The target second SMF can configure decision information according to the session parameter information and the session tunnel information, and send an Nsmf PDU session establishment response (Nsmf_PDUSession_Create Response) message carrying the decision information to the first SMF. The message mainly includes a PDU session identifier (PDU Session ID), an access type (Access Type), N2 session management information (N2 SM information), an N1 session management container (N1 SM container), and the like.

[0156] In this way, the target second SMF implements configuration and management of edge services, can control the influence range of online new functions of edge services within a subnet, forms closed-loop management of edge services, and thus can continuously iterate and enrich services of the subnet without affecting services of a large network and other subnets, thereby improving the development level of edge services.

[0157] Please refer to FIG. 10, after step S903 in some embodiments, steps S904 to S906 can also be included.

[0158] Step S904, receiving a first session update request sent by the first SMF, wherein the first session update request is generated by the first SMF based on the decision information.

[0159] The first session update request is generated by the first SMF based on the decision information, and the first session update request is used for the target second SMF to perform session update.

[0160] Step S905, based on the first session update request, performing session update in cooperation with the edge UPF.

[0161] The target second SMF performs session update in cooperation with the edge UPF based on the first session update request.

[0162] Step S906, determining that the session update is completed, returning a first session update response to the first SMF, and the first session update response is used to trigger the first SMF to send a session context update response to the AMF to notify the AMF that the session establishment is completed.

[0163] After the session update is completed, the target second SMF returns the first session update response to the first SMF, so that the first SMF sends a session context update response to an access and mobility management function AMF based on the first session update response returned by the target second SMF, and the session establishment is completed.

[0164] Referring to FIG. 4, in step a15, the first SMF sends a first session update request to the second SMF. Then, the target second SMF sends a PFCP session modification request (PFCP Session Modification Request) to the edge UPF, and the edge UPF returns a PFCP session modification response (PFCP Session Modification Response) to the target second SMF to implement cooperative execution of session update. The target second SMF sends a first session update response to the first SMF. The first SMF sends an Nsmf PDU session context update response (Nsmf_PDUSession_UpdateSMContext Response) to an access and mobility management function AMF based on the first session update response returned by the target second SMF.

[0165] Through the above manner, the target second SMF performs session update with the edge UPF, and the target second SMF is only responsible for management and configuration of edge services, can control the influence range of online new functions of edge services in a subnet, forms closed-loop management of edge services, and thus can continuously iterate and enrich services of the subnet without affecting large-network services and other-subnet services, and improves the development level of edge services.

[0166] Referring to FIG. 11, before step S901 in some embodiments, steps S907 to S908 can also be included.

[0167] In step S907, information of a subnet that can support services is configured.

[0168] The target second SMF configures information of a subnet that can support services, that is, the target second SMF supports edge services corresponding to the subnet. Referring to FIG. 5, the target second SMF configures information of subnet A that can support services,

[0169] In step S908, a service registration request is sent to the NRF, where the service registration request is used to request the NRF to store a service relationship between the target second SMF and the subnet based on the subnet information.

[0170] After the information of the subnet that can support services is configured, the target second SMF sends a service registration request to the NRF to request the NRF to store a service relationship between the target second SMF and the subnet based on the subnet information, for example, steps b1 to b3 in FIG. 5, and then the first SMF can determine the target second SMF information according to steps b4 to b13.

[0171] Through the above manner, the service relationship between the target second SMF and the subnet is stored, and then the configuration and management of edge services are realized through the target second SMF, forming closed-loop management of edge services, so that the services of the subnet can be continuously iterated and enriched without affecting large-network services and other-subnet services, and the development level of edge services is improved.

[0172] Referring to FIG. 12, in some embodiments, steps S1201 to S1203 can also be included.

[0173] In step S1201, a second session update request is sent to the first SMF, where the second session update request is used to indicate establishment of a dedicated quality service flow.

[0174] It should be noted that the target second SMF is responsible for local services, that is, policy control and management of edge services of a corresponding subnet, and a decision needs to establish a dedicated quality service flow (QoS flow).

[0175] The exclusive quality service flow is a quality service flow in network communication, which refers to allocating specific bandwidth, delay, jitter and other quality of service parameters in the network for specific data flow to ensure the reliability and stability of data transmission. In communication, the transmission rate and delay of data flow are affected by network congestion, bandwidth limitation and other factors, resulting in instability and delay of data transmission, affecting the application experience. The application of exclusive quality service flow can effectively solve these problems and improve the quality of network communication.

[0176] It should be noted that the target second SMF needs to send a second session update request to the first SMF.

[0177] Step S1202, receiving the second session update response returned by the first SMF, wherein the second session update response includes the result of establishing the exclusive quality service flow.

[0178] It should be noted that after receiving the second session update request, the first SMF can initiate the operation of establishing the exclusive quality service flow based on the second session update request, and return the second session update response to the target second SMF after the establishment of the exclusive quality service flow is completed. Thus, the target second SMF receives the second session update response returned by the first SMF, and the second session update response includes the result of establishing the exclusive quality service flow.

[0179] Step S1203, according to the result of establishing the exclusive quality service flow being a success result, sending a second session modification request to the edge UPF, wherein the second session modification request is used to notify the edge UPF to establish the exclusive quality service flow.

[0180] If the result of establishing the exclusive quality service flow is a success result, a second session modification request is sent to the edge UPF to notify the edge UPF to establish the exclusive quality service flow.

[0181] Through the above-mentioned manner, the exclusive quality service flow is established to ensure that the target second SMF can realize the policy control of edge service.

[0182] Please refer to FIG. 4, which is a scene example diagram of the service processing method provided by the embodiment of the application under a single UPF architecture. In the scene shown in FIG. 4, a central subnet and a distributed subnet A-1 are deployed, and the distributed subnet A-1 is a subnet supporting edge services such as XR services and sensory services. In the application scenario shown in FIG. 4, the following steps a1 to a19 can be performed.

[0183] a1, the user equipment UE sends a PDU session establishment request (PDU Session Establishment Request) message to the AMF.

[0184] When the AMF receives the PDU session establishment request of the UE and finds that a new PDU session is created, the AMF performs an SMF selection procedure to select a first SMF for the PDU session.

[0185] a2, the AMF sends an Nsmf PDU session management context establishment request (Nsmf_PDUSession_CreateSMContext Request) message to the first SMF to request establishment of the PDU session, wherein Nsmf is a non-structured message forwarding function (NSMF). Upon receiving the Nsmf PDU session management context establishment request from the AMF, the first SMF determines that a new PDU session is created and that the first SMF can locally perform the establishment, and returns an Nsmf PDU session management context establishment response (Nsmf_PDUSession_CreateSMContext Response) message to the AMF.

[0186] a3, the first SMF acquires subscription information from a UDM.

[0187] a4, the first SMF sends a session management control policy creation request (Npcf_SMPolicyControl_Create Request) message to a PCF, and the PCF returns a session management control policy creation response (Npcf_SMPolicyControl_CreateResponse) message. The first SMF establishes an SM (session management) policy association with the PCF through the above messages and completes policy distribution, and then acquires session parameter information from the PCF.

[0188] Subsequently, the first SMF selects a target second SMF.

[0189] a5, the first SMF sends an Nsmf PDU session establishment request (Nsmf_PDUSession_Create Request) message to the target second SMF, wherein the Nsmf PDU session establishment request message carries the session parameter information.

[0190] Subsequently, the target second SMF selects an edge UPF.

[0191] a6, the target second SMF sends an N4 session establishment request (N4 Session Establishment Request) message to the edge UPF, and carries the control policy to the edge UPF, wherein N4 is a bridge between the UPF and the SMF, and is responsible for establishing and managing a specific session item.

[0192] a7、Edge UPF returns N4 Session Establishment Response to the target second SMF to bring the session tunnel information to the target second SMF.

[0193] a8、The target second SMF sends Nsmf_PDUSession_Create Response message to the first SMF, which carries the decision information. The Nsmf_PDUSession_Create Response brings the user address, tunnel information, control policy and other information obtained by the target second SMF to the user equipment UE and the access network (R) AN through the first SMF. The message mainly includes PDU Session ID, Access Type, N2 SM information, N1 SM container, etc.

[0194] a9、The first SMF sends Npcf_SMPolicyControl_Update Request message to the PCF, which carries the UE address. The PCF returns Npcf_SMPolicyControl_Update Response message, which carries the updated control policy.

[0195] a10、The first SMF sends Namf_Communication_N1N2MessageTransfer message to the AMF, which carries the user address, tunnel information, control policy and other information obtained by the first SMF to the user equipment UE and the access network (R) AN through the AMF. The message mainly includes PDU Session ID, Access Type, N2 SM information, N1 SM container, etc. The AMF returns an acknowledgement message after receiving the message.

[0196] a11、The AMF sends N2 PDU Session Request message to the access network.

[0197] a12, the access network interacts with the user equipment, and returns an RRC reconfiguration message carrying information such as quality of service rule (QoS Rule), selected session service continuous mode (SSC mode), slice registration information (S-NSSAI), allocated IP address (allocated IPv4 address), network interface identifier, session subscription rate (Session-AMBR), selected PDU session type (selected PDU Session Type), and the like.

[0198] a13, the access network returns an N2 PDU session response message to the AMF, and sends N3 tunnel information to the AMF.

[0199] a14, the AMF sends an Nsmf PDU session context update request message to the first SMF, and carries N3 tunnel information established by the access network (R) AN to the SMF.

[0200] a15, the first SMF sends a session update request (Nsmf_PDUSession_Update Request) message to the target second SMF, and carries N3 tunnel information established by the access network (R) AN to the SMF.

[0201] a16, the target second SMF sends a PFCP session modification request (PFCP Session Modification Request) message to the edge UPF, and carries N3 tunnel information established by the (R) AN to the UPF.

[0202] a17, the edge UPF returns a PFCP session modification response (PFCP Session Modification Response) message.

[0203] a18, the target second SMF sends a session update response (Nsmf_PDUSession_UpdateResponse) message to the first SMF.

[0204] a19, the first SMF sends an Nsmf PDU session context update response (Nsmf_PDUSession_UpdateSMContext Response) to the AMF.

[0205] Please refer to FIG. 13, which is a scene example diagram of the service processing method provided by the embodiment of the present application under a multi-UPF architecture. In the scene shown in FIG. 13, a central subnet and a distributed subnet A-1 are deployed, wherein the central subnet, i.e., the large network, is provided with a central UPF, and the distributed subnet is provided with an edge UPF. In the application scene shown in FIG. 13, the following steps d1 to d21 can be performed.

[0206] d1. The user equipment (UE) sends a PDU session establishment request (PDU Session Establishment Request) message to the AMF.

[0207] When the AMF receives the PDU session establishment request of the UE and finds that a new PDU session is to be created, the AMF performs an SMF selection process to select a first SMF for the PDU session.

[0208] d2. The AMF sends an Nsmf PDU session management context establishment request (Nsmf_PDUSession_CreateSMContext Request) message to the first SMF to request the establishment of the PDU session. After receiving the Nsmf PDU session management context establishment request of the AMF, the first SMF determines that a new PDU session is to be created and that the local can perform the establishment, and then returns an Nsmf PDU session management context establishment response (Nsmf_PDUSession_CreateSMContext Response) message to the AMF.

[0209] d3. The first SMF acquires subscription information (Subscription) from the UDM.

[0210] d4. The first SMF sends a session management control policy creation request (Npcf_SMPolicyControl_Create Request) message to the PCF, and the PCF returns a session management control policy creation response (Npcf_SMPolicyControl_Create Response) message.

[0211] d5. The first SMF sends a first N4 session establishment request (N4 Session Establishment Request) message to the central UPF, and carries the control policy to the central UPF. The SMF controls the central UPF to perform policy control on the large network service.

[0212] d6. The central UPF returns a first N4 session establishment response (N4 Session Establishment Response) to carry the tunnel information to the first SMF.

[0213] d7. The first SMF sends a session control policy update request (Npcf_SMPolicyControl_Update Request) message to the PCF. The PCF returns a session control policy update response (Npcf_SMPolicyControl_UpdateResponse) message.

[0214] d8. The first SMF sends an Nsmf PDU session establishment request (Nsmf_PDUSession_Create Request) message to the target second SMF, which carries the user equipment UE address.

[0215] After that, the target second SMF selects an edge UPF.

[0216] d9. The target second SMF sends a second N4 session establishment request (N4 Session Establishment Request) to the edge UPF, which carries the edge service control policy to the edge UPF.

[0217] d10. The edge UPF returns a second N4 session establishment response (N4 Session Establishment Response) to carry the session tunnel information to the target second SMF.

[0218] d11. The target second SMF sends an Nsmf PDU session establishment response (Nsmf_PDUSession_Create Response) message to the first SMF, which carries the decision information. The Nsmf PDU session establishment response carries the user address, tunnel information, control policy and other information obtained by the target second SMF to the user equipment UE and the access network (R) AN through the first SMF. The message mainly includes a PDU session identifier (PDU Session ID), an access type (Access Type), N2 session management information (N2 SM information), an N1 session management container (N1 SM container) and the like.

[0219] d12. The first SMF sends an N4 session modification request (N4 Session Modification Request) to the edge UPF, which updates the tunnel information of the edge UPF at the N9 interface and instructs the central UPF to offload the local service to the edge UPF for processing.

[0220] d13. The edge UPF returns an N4 session modification response (N4 Session Modification Response).

[0221] d14. The first SMF sends a Namf_Communication_N1N2MessageTransfer message to the AMF, which carries the user address, tunnel information, control policy, and other information obtained by the first SMF to the user equipment (UE) and the access network (R)AN through the AMF. The message mainly includes PDU Session ID, Access Type, N2 SM information, N1 SM container, etc. The AMF returns an acknowledgement message after receiving the message.

[0222] d15. The AMF sends a N2 PDU Session Request to the access network.

[0223] d16. The access network interacts with the user equipment and returns an RRC reconfiguration message, which carries the quality of service rule (QoS Rule(s)), selected session service continuity mode (SSC mode), slice registration information (S-NSSAI), allocated IP address, network interface identifier, session-AMBR, selected PDU Session Type, and other information.

[0224] d17. The access network returns a N2 PDU Session Response to the AMF, which sends the N3 tunnel information to the AMF.

[0225] d18. The AMF sends a Nsmf_PDUSession_UpdateSMContext Request to the first SMF, which carries the N3 tunnel information established by the access network (R)AN to the SMF.

[0226] d19. The target second SMF sends a PFCP Session Modification Request to the edge UPF, which carries the N3 tunnel information established by the (R)AN to the edge UPF.

[0227] d20. The edge UPF returns a PFCP Session Modification Response.

[0228] d21. The first SMF sends an Nsmf PDU Session Context Update Response (Nsmf_PDUSession_UpdateSMContext Response) to the AMF.

[0229] In addition, please refer to FIG. 14, which is a schematic diagram of key policy definition between the first SMF and the target second SMF provided by the embodiment of the present application. The target second SMF is responsible for the management and configuration of edge services, and the policy decision point of edge services. When the related policy of edge services needs to interact with the surrounding network element, the first SMF and the target second SMF need to transfer the key session information based on the N16 interface.

[0230] The transfer of key information needs to enhance the definition of the 3GPP standard N16 interface as shown in FIG. 14. It should be noted that FIG. 14 is only an example, and the present application does not limit the interface name, message number, and message structure definition between the first SMF and the target second SMF.

[0231] For the key policy of the PDU session creation message, the message sent by the first SMF to the target second SMF is Nsmf_PDUSession_Create Request, and the corresponding structure is PduSessionCreateData. The message returned by the target second SMF to the first SMF is Nsmf_PDUSession_Create Response, and the corresponding structure is PduSessionCreatedData.

[0232] For the key policy of the PDU session update message, if the message sent by the first SMF to the target second SMF is Nsmf_PDUSession_Update Request, the corresponding structure is HsmfUpdateData. The message returned by the target second SMF to the first SMF is Nsmf_PDUSession_Update Response, and the corresponding structure is HsmfUpdatedData.

[0233] For the key policy of the PDU session update message, if the message sent by the target second SMF to the first SMF is Nsmf_PDUSession_Update Request, the corresponding structure is VsmfUpdateData structure. The message returned by the first SMF to the target second SMF is Nsmf_PDUSession_Update Response, and the corresponding structure is VsmfUpdatedData structure.

[0234] For the key policy of the user equipment UE address, when the target second SMF is responsible for allocating the UE address, the target second allocates the UE address, and carries the user address in the Nsmf_PDUSession_Create Response message to the first SMF, using the ueIpv4Address and ueIpv6Prefix defined in the 3GPP 29502 PduSessionCreatedData.

[0235] For the N1 policy, when the target second SMF needs to interact with the terminal, for the N1 policy sent by the UE to the target second SMF, the n1SmInfoFromUe field in the PduSessionCreateData and HsmfUpdateData structures is used. For the policy sent by the target second SMF to the UE, the n1SmInfoToUe field in the PduSessionCreatedData and VsmfUpdateData structures is used.

[0236] For the N2 policy, when the target second SMF needs to interact with the access network gNB, the policy sent by the target second SMF to the gNB uses the qosFlowsSetupList parameter in the PduSessionCreatedData structure, and the qosFlowsAddModRequestList and qosFlowsRelRequestList fields in the VsmfUpdateData structure.

[0237] For the charging control policy, when the PCF issues the PCC rule, the first SMF needs to pass the PCC rule to the target second SMF, using the n4Info parameter in the PduSessionCreateData and HsmfUpdateData structures.

[0238] Referring to FIG. 15, FIG. 15 is a structural schematic block diagram of a network element provided by an embodiment of the present application.

[0239] As shown in FIG. 15, the network element 300 includes a processor 301 and a memory 302, and the processor 301 and the memory 302 are connected through a bus 303, such as an I2C (Inter-integrated Circuit) bus.

[0240] Specifically, the processor 301 is configured to provide calculation and control capabilities to support the operation of the entire network element. The processor 301 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, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0241] Specifically, the memory 302 can be a Flash chip, a read-only memory (ROM) disk, an optical disk, a U disk or a mobile hard disk, etc.

[0242] Those skilled in the art can understand that the structure shown in FIG. 15 is only a block diagram of part of the structure related to the embodiment of the present application, and does not constitute a limitation on the network element to which the embodiment of the present application is applied. Specifically, the server can include more or fewer components than those shown in the figure, or combine certain components, or have a different component arrangement.

[0243] The processor is configured to run the computer program stored in the memory and implement any one of the above business processing methods when executing the computer program.

[0244] In one embodiment, the processor is configured to run the computer program stored in the memory and implement the following steps when executing the computer program:

[0245] The first SMF receives a session establishment request of a user equipment, obtains target second SMF information of a subnetwork supporting edge services based on the session establishment request;

[0246] Based on the target second SMF information, the session parameter information corresponding to the session establishment request is sent to the target second SMF, wherein the session parameter information is used to determine the decision information of the session;

[0247] Based on the decision information returned by the target second SMF, the operation of establishing the session is initiated.

[0248] In one embodiment, when implementing the operation of initiating the establishment of the session based on the decision information returned by the target second SMF, the processor is configured to implement:

[0249] generate a first session update request based on the decision information, and send the first session update request to a target second SMF, wherein the first session update request is used for the target second SMF to perform session update;

[0250] send a session context update response to an access and mobility management function (AMF) based on a first session update response returned by the target second SMF, wherein the session context update response is used to notify the AMF that the session establishment is completed.

[0251] In one embodiment, the processor, when implementing generating the first session update request based on the decision information, is configured to:

[0252] send a session control policy update request to a policy control function (PCF), wherein the session control policy update request is used for the PCF to determine an update control policy of the session;

[0253] generate the first session update request according to the update control policy returned by the PCF and the decision information.

[0254] In one embodiment, the processor, when implementing obtaining the target second SMF information of the subnet supporting the edge service, is configured to:

[0255] obtain subscription information of the user equipment from a unified data management (UDM);

[0256] determine the subnet of the edge service according to the subscription information;

[0257] obtain a second SMF information set from a network repository function (NRF) based on the subnet, wherein at least two second SMFs support services of the subnet, and the second SMF information set includes at least two second SMF information;

[0258] select the target second SMF information from the second SMF information set.

[0259] In one embodiment, the processor, when implementing the service processing method, is further configured to:

[0260] receive a second session update request sent by the target second SMF, wherein the second session update request is used to indicate establishment of a dedicated quality service flow;

[0261] initiate an operation of establishing the dedicated quality service flow based on the second session update request;

[0262] return a second session update response to the target second SMF, wherein the second session update response includes a result of establishing the dedicated quality service flow.

[0263] In one embodiment, the processor, when implementing initiating the operation of establishing the dedicated quality service flow based on the second session update request, is configured to:

[0264] transmit, by an N1N2 message transfer service of the AMF, control policy information of the dedicated quality service flow to the user equipment and the access network based on the second session update request;

[0265] receive a session context update request sent by the AMF, wherein the session context update request is generated based on a determination message of the user equipment and / or the access network on the control policy information of the dedicated quality service flow;

[0266] send a first session modification request to the central UPF based on the session context update request, wherein the first session modification request is used to inform the central UPF to establish the dedicated quality service flow.

[0267] In one embodiment, the processor is configured to run a computer program stored in the memory and implement the following steps when the computer program is executed:

[0268] The target second SMF receives session parameter information sent by the first SMF, wherein the session parameter information is determined by the first SMF according to a session establishment request of the user equipment, and the session establishment request is used to establish a session for carrying an edge service of the user equipment;

[0269] determine decision information according to the session parameter information;

[0270] return the decision information to the first SMF, wherein the decision information is used to initiate an operation of establishing the session.

[0271] In one embodiment, the processor is configured to implement the following when determining the decision information according to the session parameter information:

[0272] generate a session management context request according to the session parameter information;

[0273] send the session management context request to an edge user plane function (UPF) corresponding to the target second SMF, wherein the session management context request is used for the edge UPF to configure session tunnel information;

[0274] receive the session tunnel information returned by the edge UPF;

[0275] configure the decision information according to the session parameter information and the session tunnel information.

[0276] In one embodiment, after the processor returns the decision information to the first SMF, the processor is further configured to implement the following:

[0277] receive a first session update request sent by the first SMF, wherein the first session update request is generated by the first SMF based on the decision information;

[0278] perform session update in cooperation with the edge UPF based on the first session update request;

[0279] determines that the session update is completed, and returns a first session update response to the first SMF, wherein the first session update response is used to trigger the first SMF to send a session context update response to the AMF to notify the AMF that the session establishment is completed.

[0280] In an embodiment, before implementing receiving the session parameter information sent by the first SMF, the processor is further configured to implement:

[0281] configuring the subnet information that can support the service;

[0282] sending a service registration request to the NRF, wherein the service registration request is used to request the NRF to store the service relationship between the target second SMF and the subnet based on the subnet information.

[0283] In an embodiment, when implementing the service processing method, the processor is further configured to implement:

[0284] sending a second session update request to the first SMF, wherein the second session update request is used to instruct to establish a dedicated quality service flow;

[0285] receiving a second session update response returned by the first SMF, wherein the second session update response includes a result of establishing the dedicated quality service flow;

[0286] according to the result of establishing the dedicated quality service flow being a successful result, sending a second session modification request to the edge UPF, wherein the second session modification request is used to notify the edge UPF to establish the dedicated quality service flow.

[0287] The embodiment of the application further provides a storage medium for computer readable storage, the storage medium stores one or more programs, and the one or more programs can be executed by one or more processors to implement the steps of any one of the methods for selecting a subnet service provided in the specification of the embodiment of the application.

[0288] The storage medium can be an internal storage unit of the network element, for example, a hard disk or a memory of the network element. The storage medium can also be an external storage device of the network element, for example, a plug-in hard disk, a smart media card (SMC), a secure digital (SD) card, a flash card, etc.

[0289] According to the embodiment of the present application, a service processing method, a network element and a storage medium are provided. The first SMF is deployed in a large network, and the target second SMF is deployed in a subnetwork supporting edge services. The first SMF receives a session establishment request from a user equipment, and obtains target second SMF information of the subnetwork supporting edge services based on the session establishment request. Based on the target second SMF information, session parameter information corresponding to the session establishment request is sent to the target second SMF. The session parameter information is used to determine decision information of the session. Then, the target second SMF returns the decision information to the first SMF. The first SMF initiates an operation of establishing the session based on the decision information, so that the user equipment implements transmission of the edge service based on the session. According to the embodiment of the present application, the target second SMF is arranged in the subnetwork supporting edge services, so that the configuration and management of the edge service are performed through the target second SMF. The influence range of the online new function of the edge service can be controlled in the subnetwork, and closed-loop management of the edge service is formed. Therefore, the service of the subnetwork can be iteratively enriched without affecting the large network service and other subnetwork services, and the development level of the edge service is improved.

[0290] Those skilled in the art can understand that all or some of the steps in the method disclosed above and the functional modules / units in the system and device can be implemented as software, firmware, hardware, and appropriate combinations thereof. In the hardware embodiment, the division between the functional modules / units mentioned in the above description does not necessarily correspond to the division of physical components; for example, one physical component can have multiple functions, or one function or step can be performed by several physical components in cooperation. Some or all of the physical components can be implemented as software executed by a processor, such as a central processing unit, a digital signal processor, or a microprocessor, or as hardware, or as an integrated circuit, such as an application-specific integrated circuit. Such software can be distributed on a computer-readable medium, which can include computer storage media (or non-transitory media) and communication media (or transitory media). As known to those skilled in the art, the term computer storage media includes volatile and non-volatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information such as computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data. Computer storage media includes, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD) or other optical disk storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tapes, magnetic disk storage, or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to store the desired information and can be accessed by a computer. In addition, as known to those skilled in the art, communication media typically includes computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data in modulated data signals such as carrier waves or other transport mechanisms, and can include any information delivery medium.

[0291] It should be understood that the term "and / or" as used herein refers to and encompasses any and all possible combinations of one or more of the associated listed items, and that the term "comprises" or "comprising" or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not include only those elements but can also include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. An element proceeded by "comprises... a" does not, without more constraints, exclude the presence of additional identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises the element.

[0292] The above-mentioned embodiment serial numbers of the present application are only for description, and do not represent the advantages and disadvantages of the embodiments. The above is only a specific embodiment of the present application, but the protection scope of the present application is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art can easily think of various equivalent modifications or replacements within the technical scope disclosed by the present application, and these modifications or replacements should be covered within the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application should be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A service processing method, applied to a first SMF, comprising: receiving a session establishment request of a user equipment, obtaining target second SMF information of a subnet supporting an edge service based on the session establishment request; sending session parameter information corresponding to the session establishment request to a target second SMF based on the target second SMF information, wherein the session parameter information is used to determine decision information of a session; initiating an operation of establishing the session based on the decision information returned by the target second SMF.

2. The service processing method according to claim 1, wherein The operation of initiating the operation of establishing the session based on the decision information returned by the target second SMF comprises: generating a first session update request based on the decision information, and sending the first session update request to the target second SMF, wherein the first session update request is used for the target second SMF to perform session update; sending a session context update response to an access and mobility management function (AMF) based on a first session update response returned by the target second SMF, wherein the session context update response is used to notify the AMF that the session establishment is completed.

3. The transaction processing method of claim 2, wherein, The operation of generating the first session update request based on the decision information comprises: sending a session control policy update request to a policy control function (PCF), wherein the session control policy update request is used for the PCF to determine an updated control policy of the session; generating the first session update request according to the updated control policy returned by the PCF and the decision information.

4. The transaction processing method of claim 1, wherein, The operation of obtaining the target second SMF information of the subnet supporting the edge service comprises: obtaining subscription information of the user equipment from a unified data management (UDM); determining a subnet of the edge service according to the subscription information; obtaining a second SMF information set from a network repository function (NRF) based on the subnet, wherein at least two second SMFs support services of the subnet, and the second SMF information set comprises at least two second SMF information; filtering out the target second SMF information from the second SMF information set.

5. The service processing method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving a second session update request sent by the target second SMF, wherein the second session update request is used to indicate establishment of a dedicated quality service flow; initiating an operation of establishing the dedicated quality service flow based on the second session update request; returning a second session update response to the target second SMF, wherein the second session update response comprises a result of establishing the dedicated quality service flow.

6. The transaction processing method of claim 5, wherein, The operation of initiating the operation of establishing the dedicated quality service flow based on the second session update request comprises: transferring control policy information of the dedicated quality service flow to the user equipment and an access network through an N1N2 message transmission service of an AMF based on the second session update request; receiving a session context update request sent by the AMF, wherein the session context update request is generated based on a determination message of the control policy information of the dedicated quality service flow by the user equipment and / or the access network. sending a first session modification request to a central UPF based on the session context update request, wherein the first session modification request is used to inform the central UPF to establish the dedicated quality service flow.

7. A service processing method, applied to a target second SMF deployed in a subnet supporting edge service of a user equipment, comprising: receiving session parameter information sent by a first SMF, wherein the session parameter information is determined by the first SMF according to a session establishment request of the user equipment, and the session establishment request is used to establish a session carrying an edge service for the user equipment; determining decision information according to the session parameter information; returning the decision information to the first SMF, wherein the decision information is used to initiate an operation of establishing a session.

8. The transaction processing method of claim 7, wherein, The determining of the decision information according to the session parameter information comprises: generating a session management context request according to the session parameter information; sending the session management context request to an edge user plane function (UPF) corresponding to the target second SMF, wherein the session management context request is used for the edge UPF to configure session tunnel information; receiving the session tunnel information returned by the edge UPF; configuring the decision information according to the session parameter information and the session tunnel information.

9. The transaction processing method of claim 7, wherein, After the returning of the decision information to the first SMF, the method further comprises: receiving a first session update request sent by the first SMF, wherein the first session update request is generated by the first SMF based on the decision information; performing session update in cooperation with the edge UPF based on the first session update request; determining that the session update is completed, and returning a first session update response to the first SMF, wherein the first session update response is used to trigger the first SMF to send a session context update response to an AMF to inform the AMF that the session establishment is completed.

10. The transaction processing method of claim 7, wherein, Before the receiving of the session parameter information sent by the first SMF, the method further comprises: configuring subnet information that can support a service; sending a service registration request to an NRF, wherein the service registration request is used to request the NRF to store a service relationship between the target second SMF and the subnet based on the subnet information.

11. The service processing method of claim 7, further comprising: sending a second session update request to the first SMF, wherein the second session update request is used to indicate establishment of a dedicated quality service flow; receiving a second session update response returned by the first SMF, wherein the second session update response comprises a result of establishment of the dedicated quality service flow; sending a second session modification request to an edge UPF according to a successful result of establishment of the dedicated quality service flow, wherein the second session modification request is used to inform the edge UPF to establish the dedicated quality service flow.

12. A network element comprising a processor, a memory, a computer program stored on the memory and executable by the processor, and a data bus for enabling communicative coupling between the processor and the memory, wherein the computer program, when executed by the processor, implements the steps of the traffic management method according to any one of claims 1 to 6 or 7 to 11.

13. A storage medium for computer-readable storage, the storage medium having stored thereon one or more programs, the one or more programs being executable by one or more processors to implement the steps of the traffic management method according to any one of claims 1 to 6 or 7 to 11.

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