CN115486032B - Efficient predefined policy and charging control, PCC, instruction handling mechanism for communication systems - Google Patents

Abstract

Examples of the present invention relate to an efficient PCC instruction handling mechanism for a communication system, such as a 3GPP NR. The first control plane device (e.g., SMF) configures and instructs the user plane device to install Policy and Charging Control (PCC) instructions associated with at least one client device (e.g., UE) by sending a control message to the user plane device (e.g., UPF). The control message sent to the user plane device includes: a first information element instructing the user plane device to install the received PCC instruction as a predefined PCC instruction; and a second information element indicating to the user plane device to activate the received PCC instruction. The first control plane device receives PCC instructions in a control message from a second control plane device (e.g., CPF). Thus, for example, the complexity of the first control plane device may be reduced and a large number of signalling messages over the communication interface are avoided in the communication system.

Description

Efficient predefined policy and charging control (PCC) instruction processing mechanism for communication systems

Technical Field

Examples of the present invention relate to an effective PCC instruction processing mechanism for a communication system. More specifically, examples of the present invention relate to a first control plane device and a second control plane device and a user plane device for such PCC instruction processing. In addition, examples of the present invention also relate to corresponding methods and computer programs.

Background technique

3GPP specifications TS 23.501 (Phase 2) and TS 29.244 (Phase 3) specify the predefined policy and charging control (PCC) rules function. Predefined PCC rules are pre-configured in the policy and charging enforcement function (PCEF) or session management function (SMF) and user plane function (UPF) via operations and maintenance (O&M). Predefined PCC rules can be activated or deactivated at any time by the PCRF or policy control function (PCF). Predefined PCC rules can be grouped so that the PCF can dynamically activate a set of PCC rules. Each PCC rule has a name encoded as an octet string.

O&M-based PCC rule provision is the mainstream conventional solution. In addition to O&M-based PCC rule provision, 3GPP TS 29.244 also provides a proprietary alternative. Operators can specify customized vendor-specific information elements (IEs) and order their support from their own UPF provider or vendor.

Summary of the invention

It is an object of examples of the present invention to provide a solution that alleviates or solves the disadvantages and problems of conventional solutions.

These and other objects are solved by the subject-matter of the independent claims. Further advantageous embodiments of the invention can be found in the dependent claims.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, the above and other objects are achieved by a first control plane device for a communication system, wherein the first control plane device is used to:

receiving a first control message from a second control plane device, wherein the first control message includes at least one policy and charging control (PCC) instruction;

When it is determined that the received PCC instruction is to be activated for the user plane device, a second control message is sent to the user plane device, wherein the second control message includes:

a first information element instructing the user plane device to install the received PCC instruction as a predefined PCC instruction, and

The second information element instructs the user plane device to activate the received PCC instruction.

In the 3GPP context, the first control plane device may also be denoted as a first control plane function.

PCC instructions can be understood as one or more rules, which are provided to user plane (UP) devices or functions for processing incoming and/or outgoing services in a manner desired by the operator. Therefore, PCC instructions can also be referred to as PCC rules in the present invention.

An advantage of the first control plane device according to the first aspect is that the implementation and complexity of the first control plane device can be simplified. Another advantage is that a large number of signaling messages through a communication interface (e.g., the N4 interface in 3GPP NR) are avoided. Another advantage is that signaling in the communication system can be reduced, because the PCC instruction can be defined as a predefined PCC instruction and activated by only dynamically sending the PCC instruction name. Another advantage is that operators can apply user plane policies to their own user plane devices or functions without leaking sensitive information to the outside world, which means a competitive advantage of the applied user plane policy.

In an implementation of the first control plane device according to the first aspect, at least one of the following exists:

The first information element comprises an identification of the received PCC instruction to be installed; and

The second information element comprises an identification of the predefined PCC command to be activated.

An advantage of this implementation is that identifying received PCC instructions to be installed and predefined PCC instructions to be activated, respectively, is simplified due to the identification in the first information element and the second information element.

In one implementation of the first control plane device according to the first aspect, the received PCC instruction is a packet detection rule (PDR) indicating at least one of a forwarding action rule (FAR), a quality-of-service enforcement rule (QER), and a usage reporting rule (URR); and wherein

The second information element instructs the user plane device to activate at least one of the FAR, the QER, and the URR.

In an implementation manner of the first control plane device according to the first aspect, the first control message is included in a protocol data unit (PDU) session establishment process.

The first control message being included in the PDU session establishment process may mean that the first control plane device receives one or more PCC instructions in the PDU session establishment process.

In an implementation manner of the first control plane device according to the first aspect, the second control message is a packet forwarding control protocol (PFCP) session establishment request message.

In an implementation manner of the first control plane device according to the first aspect, determining to activate the received PCC instruction includes:

Based on the identifier of the received PCC instruction and the identifier of the predefined PCC instruction, it is determined that the received PCC instruction matches the predefined PCC instruction.

The advantage of this implementation is that the matching in the first control plane device is simplified by using the received PCC instruction and the identifier of the predefined PCC instruction.

In an implementation manner of the first control plane device according to the first aspect, determining to activate the received PCC instruction includes:

A third information element included in the first control message is received, wherein the third information element instructs the first control plane device to activate the received PCC instruction as a predefined PCC instruction for the user plane device.

An advantage of this implementation is that the PCC instruction processing in the first control plane device is simplified because the first control plane device is directly instructed by the second control plane device and therefore does not have to perform any matching.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the above and other objects are achieved by a user plane device for a wireless communication system, wherein the user plane device is used for:

A second control message is received from the first control plane device, wherein the second control message includes:

a first information element, which instructs the user plane device to install at least one PCC instruction as a predefined PCC instruction, and

The second information element instructs the user plane device to activate the received PCC instruction.

In the 3GPP context, a user plane device may also be denoted as a user plane function.

The advantage of the user plane device according to the second aspect is that a large number of signaling messages through a communication interface (e.g., N4 interface in NR) are avoided. Another advantage is that signaling in the communication system can be reduced, because the PCC instruction can be defined as a predefined PCC instruction and activated by only dynamically sending the PCC instruction name. Another advantage is that operators can apply user plane policies to their own user plane devices or functions without leaking sensitive information to the outside world, which means a competitive advantage of the applied user plane policy.

In an implementation manner of the user plane device according to the second aspect, the user plane device is further configured to:

Upon receiving the second control message, the predefined PCC instructions are implemented for at least one client device.

Implementing the predefined PCC instructions may be understood as the user plane function applying the predefined PCC instructions. For example, the predefined PCC instructions may be understood as a set of instructions provided to the user plane device for processing incoming traffic in a manner desired by the operator. Therefore, by implementing the predefined PCC instructions, the user plane function will follow these instructions.

In an implementation manner of the user plane device according to the second aspect, there is at least one of the following:

The first information element comprises an identification of the received PCC instruction to be installed; and

The second information element comprises an identification of the predefined PCC command to be activated.

The advantage of this implementation is that, in the user plane device, the identification of the PCC instructions to be installed and the predefined PCC instructions to be activated is simplified.

In an implementation manner of the user plane device according to the second aspect, the received PCC instruction is a PDR indicating at least one of a FAR, a QER and a URR; and wherein,

The second information element instructs the user plane device to activate at least one of the FAR, the QER, and the URR.

In an implementation manner of the user plane device according to the second aspect, the second control message is a PFCP session establishment request message.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the above and other objects are achieved by a second control plane device for a communication system, wherein the second control plane device is used to:

Sending a first control message to a first control plane device, wherein the first control message includes:

at least one PCC instruction, and

A third information element instructs the first control plane device to activate the PCC instruction as a predefined PCC instruction for a user plane device.

In the 3GPP context, the second control plane device may also be denoted as a second control plane function.

The advantage of the second control plane device according to the third aspect is that, since the second control plane device instructs the first control plane device, there is no need to pre-configure the PCC instruction in the first control plane device, thereby reducing the complexity of the first control plane device.

In an implementation manner of the second control plane device according to the third aspect, the first control message is included in a PDU session establishment process.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the above and other objects are achieved by a method for a first control plane device, the method comprising:

Receiving a first control message from a second control plane device, wherein the first control message includes at least one PCC instruction;

When it is determined that the received PCC instruction is to be activated for the user plane device, a second control message is sent to the user plane device, wherein the second control message includes:

a first information element instructing the user plane device to install the received PCC instruction as a predefined PCC instruction, and

The second information element instructs the user plane device to activate the received PCC instruction.

The method according to the fourth aspect may be extended to an implementation corresponding to the implementation of the first control plane device according to the first aspect. Therefore, the implementation of the method comprises one or more features of the corresponding implementation of the first control plane device.

The advantages of the method according to the fourth aspect are the same as the advantages of the corresponding implementation of the first control plane device according to the first aspect.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the above and other objects are achieved by a method for a user plane device, the method comprising:

A second control message is received from the first control plane device, wherein the second control message includes:

a first information element, which instructs the user plane device to install at least one PCC instruction as a predefined PCC instruction, and

The second information element instructs the user plane device to activate the received PCC instruction.

The method according to the fifth aspect may be extended to an implementation corresponding to the implementation of the user plane device according to the second aspect. Therefore, the implementation of the method includes one or more features of the corresponding implementation of the user plane device.

The advantages of the method according to the fifth aspect are the same as the advantages of the corresponding implementation of the user plane device according to the second aspect.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, the above and other objects are achieved by a method for a second control plane device, the method comprising:

Sending a first control message to a first control plane device, wherein the first control message includes:

at least one PCC instruction, and

A third information element instructs the first control plane device to activate the PCC instruction as a predefined PCC instruction for a user plane device.

The method according to the sixth aspect may be extended to an implementation corresponding to the implementation of the second control plane device according to the second aspect. Therefore, the implementation of the method includes one or more features of the corresponding implementation of the second control plane device.

The advantages of the method according to the sixth aspect are the same as the advantages of the corresponding implementation of the second control plane device according to the second aspect.

The present invention also relates to a computer program, characterized by program code, which, when executed by at least one processor, causes the at least one processor to perform any method according to the examples of the present invention. In addition, the present invention also relates to a computer program product, which comprises a computer-readable medium and the computer program, wherein the computer program is included in the computer-readable medium and comprises one or more selected from the following group: read-only memory (ROM), programmable ROM (PROM), erasable PROM (EPROM), flash memory, electrically EPROM (EEPROM) and hard disk drive.

Other applications and advantages of examples of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings are intended to illustrate and explain different examples of the present invention. In the drawings:

FIG1 shows a client device according to an example of the present invention;

FIG2 shows a method for a client device according to an example of the present invention;

FIG3 shows a network access node according to an example of the present invention;

FIG4 shows a method for a network access node according to an example of the present invention;

FIG5 shows a network access node according to an example of the present invention;

FIG6 shows a method for a network access node according to an example of the present invention;

7 shows a signaling diagram of the interaction between the first control plane device, the second control plane device and the user plane device according to an example of the present invention;

FIG8 shows a signaling diagram of interaction between a first control plane device and a user plane device according to an example of the present invention; and

FIG. 9 shows a wireless communication system according to an example of the present invention.

Detailed ways

The conventional solution of the PCC processing related to O&M and/or SMF has some disadvantages pointed out in the present invention.Use such a solution based on SMF, the internal function of SMF becomes complicated.In addition, SMF needs to be configured with hundreds of predefined PCC instructions/rules, which involve transmitting huge amounts of data through the N4 interface and increasing the signaling in the communication system.In addition, if a solution based on hybrid O&M and SMF is implemented, there is a huge risk that such a hybrid solution will cause misconfiguration and/or protocol errors in the communication system.It will be very challenging to resolve such conflicts, keep user data flowing and accurately report this situation to the charging function in the communication system.

Therefore, disclosed herein is an efficient solution for processing PCC instructions/rules in a communication system comprising a first control plane device, a second control plane device and a user plane device according to examples of the present invention.

FIG1 shows a first control plane device 100 according to an example of the present invention. In the example shown in FIG1 , the first control plane device 100 includes a processor 102, a transceiver 104, and a memory 106. The processor 102 may be coupled to the transceiver 104 and the memory 106 via a communication device 108 known in the art. The first control plane device 100 may also include a communication interface 110, which is coupled to the transceiver 104 and is therefore used to perform communications in the communication system 500. In the present invention, the first control plane device 100 may be used to perform certain actions, which may be understood to mean that the first control plane device 100 includes suitable means for performing the actions, such as the processor 102 and the transceiver 104.

The processor 102 of the first control plane device 100 may be referred to as one or more general-purpose central processing units (CPUs), one or more digital signal processors (DSPs), one or more application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), one or more field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), one or more programmable logic devices, one or more discrete gates, one or more transistor logic devices, one or more discrete hardware components, and one or more chipsets. The memory 106 of the first control plane device 100 may be a read-only memory, a random access memory, or a non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM). The transceiver 104 of the first control plane device 100 may be a transceiver circuit, a power controller, an antenna, or an interface for communicating with other modules or devices. In an example, the transceiver 104 of the first control plane device 100 may be a separate chipset or integrated in a chipset with the processor 102. In some examples, the processor 102 , the transceiver 104 , and the memory 106 of the first control plane device 100 are integrated into a chipset.

According to an example of the present invention, the first control plane device 100 is used to receive a first control message 510 from the second control plane device 600, which is shown in Figure 7. The first control message 510 includes at least one policy and charging control (PCC) instruction. The first control plane device 100 is also used to send a second control message 520 to the user plane device 300 when it is determined that the received PCC instruction is to be activated for the user plane device 300, which is also shown in Figure 7. The second control message 520 includes a first information element IE1 and a second information element IE2. The first information element IE1 instructs the user plane device 300 to install the received PCC instruction as a predefined PCC instruction, and the second information element IE2 instructs the user plane device 300 to activate the received PCC instruction.

Generally, PCC instructions can be understood as a set of instructions provided to a user plane device or function on how to handle incoming data services defined by an operator so as to meet the operator's expectations. Therefore, different operators may provide different instructions, i.e., different PCC instructions. These instructions may involve how the user plane device should detect and handle data services in the form of user data. Processing data services may, for example, involve forwarding, buffering, discarding, etc. This also means that the PCC instructions are applicable to one client device but not to another client device. Activating PCC instructions for a user plane device can be understood as the PCC instructions being obtained in use, i.e., applied by the user plane device to incoming services to/from the client device.

FIG2 shows a flow chart of a corresponding method 200 that can be performed in a first control plane device 100 (e.g., the first control plane device 100 shown in FIG1 ). The method 200 includes receiving 202 a first control message 510 from a second control plane device 600. The first control message 510 includes at least one PCC instruction. The method 200 also includes sending 206 a second control message 520 to the user plane device 300 when determining 204 that the received PCC instruction is to be activated for the user plane device 300. The second control message 520 includes: a first information element IE1, which indicates that the user plane device 300 installs the received PCC instruction as a predefined PCC instruction; and a second information element IE2, which indicates that the user plane device 300 activates the received PCC instruction.

FIG3 shows a user plane device 300 according to an example of the present invention. In the example shown in FIG3 , the user plane device 300 includes a processor 302, a transceiver 304, and a memory 306. The processor 302 is coupled to the transceiver 304 and the memory 306 via a communication device 308 known in the art. The user plane device 300 is used to perform communication in the communication system 500, which can be provided, for example, by a communication interface 310 coupled to the transceiver 304. In the present invention, the user plane device 300 is used to perform certain actions, which can be understood to mean that the user plane device 300 includes suitable means for performing the actions, such as the processor 302 and the transceiver 304.

The processor 302 of the user plane device 300 may be referred to as one or more general-purpose CPUs, one or more DSPs, one or more ASICs, one or more FPGAs, one or more programmable logic devices, one or more discrete gates, one or more transistor logic devices, one or more discrete hardware components, and one or more chipsets. The memory 306 of the user plane device 300 may be a read-only memory, a random access memory, or an NVRAM. The transceiver 304 of the user plane device 300 may be a transceiver circuit, a power controller, an antenna, or an interface for communicating with other modules or devices. In an example, the transceiver 304 of the user plane device 300 may be a separate chipset or integrated with the processor 302 in a chipset. In some examples, the processor 302, the transceiver 304, and the memory 306 of the user plane device 300 are integrated in a chipset.

According to an example of the present invention, the user plane device 300 is used to receive a second control message 520 from the first control plane device 100, as shown in Figure 7. The second control message 520 includes: a first information element IE1, which indicates that the user plane device 300 installs at least one PCC instruction as a predefined PCC instruction; and a second information element IE2, which indicates that the user plane device 300 activates the received PCC instruction.

4 shows a flow chart of a corresponding method 400 that can be performed in a user plane device 300 (e.g., the user plane device 300 shown in FIG3 ). The method 400 includes receiving 402 a second control message 520 from the first control plane device 100. The second control message 520 includes: a first information element IE1, which indicates that the user plane device 300 installs at least one PCC instruction as a predefined PCC instruction; and a second information element IE2, which indicates that the user plane device 300 activates the received PCC instruction.

FIG5 shows a second control plane device 600 according to an example of the present invention. In the example shown in FIG1 , the second control plane device 600 includes a processor 602, a transceiver 604, and a memory 606. The processor 602 may be coupled to the transceiver 604 and the memory 606 via a communication device 608 known in the art. The second control plane device 600 may also include a communication interface 610, which is coupled to the transceiver 604 and is therefore used to perform communications in the communication system 500. In the present invention, the second control plane device 600 may be used to perform certain actions, which may be understood to mean that the second control plane device 600 includes suitable means for performing the actions, such as the processor 602 and the transceiver 604.

The processor 602 of the second control plane device 600 may be referred to as one or more general-purpose central processing units (CPUs), one or more digital signal processors (DSPs), one or more application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), one or more field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), one or more programmable logic devices, one or more discrete gates, one or more transistor logic devices, one or more discrete hardware components, and one or more chipsets. The memory 606 of the second control plane device 600 may be a read-only memory, a random access memory, or a non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM). The transceiver 604 of the second control plane device 600 may be a transceiver circuit, a power controller, an antenna, or an interface for communicating with other modules or devices. In an example, the transceiver 604 of the second control plane device 600 may be a separate chipset or integrated in a chipset with the processor 602. In some examples, the processor 602 , the transceiver 604 , and the memory 606 of the second control plane device 600 are integrated into one chipset.

According to an example of the present invention, the second control plane device 600 is used to send a first control message 510 to the first control plane device 100, as shown in Figure 7. The first control message 510 includes: at least one PCC instruction; and a third information element IE3, which indicates that the first control plane device 100 activates the PCC instruction as a predefined PCC instruction for the user plane device 300.

6 shows a flow chart of a corresponding method 700 that can be performed in a second control plane device 600 (e.g., the second control plane device 600 shown in FIG5 ). The method 700 includes sending 702 a first control message 510 to the first control plane device 100. The first control message 510 includes: at least one PCC instruction; and a third information element IE3, which indicates that the first control plane device 100 activates the PCC instruction as a predefined PCC instruction for the user plane device 300.

Through the above interactions among the first control plane device 100 , the second control plane device 600 and the user plane device 300 , a new and improved PCC instruction processing mechanism is provided, which makes PCC processing more efficient compared to conventional solutions.

For example, it can be assumed that the operator wants to lease the newly debugged UPF to another operator, such as a vertical network operator. The two operators agree that a certain number of predefined PCC instructions should be installed in the newly debugged UPF through the N4 interface. Instead of sending these instructions in batches through the N4 interface according to the conventional solution, this article proposes to install the predefined PCC instructions only when at least one client device (such as user equipment (UE)) will benefit. This will also distribute the PCC instruction installation signaling over a larger time period, which means reducing the signaling per time period. The new mechanism/feature of the example according to the present invention can be supported by both the SMF (i.e., control plane device) and the UPF (i.e., user plane device) in the NR system. Therefore, support for the PCC instruction processing mechanism can be negotiated between peers (e.g., communication endpoint devices) during the PFCP association establishment process. For example, this may require a change request (CR) to clause 8.2.58 in 3GPP TS 29.244, which may add a new flag to the CP feature IE, such as a predefined rule installation (PRI) flag.

In addition, in the following disclosure, more implementation examples of the present invention are described in more detail herein with reference to FIG. 7 and FIG. 8 , respectively. However, in order to provide a deeper understanding of the implementation examples, the following non-limiting examples are set in the context of a 3GPP NR system. For example, this means that the terms, expressions, system designs, protocols, etc. used may refer to the terms, expressions, system designs, protocols, etc. used in NR. Therefore, the first control plane device 100 is represented herein as SMF, the second control plane device 600 is represented herein as PCF, and the user plane device 300 is represented herein as UPF. The aforementioned client device is represented herein as UE.

In addition, the configuration and functions of SMF, PCF, UPF and UE are clearly defined by the 3GPP standard. However, it should be noted that the examples of the present invention are not limited thereto and can be implemented in any suitable communication system.

FIG. 7 shows an example of the initial process of the present invention when the predefined PCC instructions are installed and implemented by the UPF 300. As shown in FIG.

In step I of Figure 7, PCF 600 may initiate a protocol data unit (PDU) session establishment procedure, such as an Npcf_SMPolicyControl_Create service operation in a PDU session establishment procedure. This may mean that an application (e.g., VoIP) requires a session that should match certain quality of service (QoS) parameters. Therefore, in an example of the present invention, a first control message 510 is included in or is part of a PDU session establishment procedure.

In addition, in the example of the present invention, the PCC in the first control message 510 may be a packet detection rule (PDR) indicating at least one of a FAR on how to forward a matching data packet, a QER on how to implement QoS, and a URR on how and when to report an event. Typically, the FAR, QER, and URR are indicated by their corresponding IDs, which implies that in this case the first control message 510 includes the IDs of the mentioned FAR, QER, and URR.

In step II of Figure 7, the PCF 600 sends at least one PCC instruction (ie, one or more PCC instructions) in the first control message 510 to the SMF 100 via the N7 interface. The PCC instructions are a complete instruction set and can therefore be considered as dynamic instructions.

To activate a dynamic PCC command, the control plane (CP) function needs to send the entire PCC command to the user plane (UP) function. This is usually a large block of data. The PCC command itself is not a dynamic command, but the way it is provided makes it dynamic or predefined. To activate a predefined PCC command, the CP function may need to send the command name to the UP function. Therefore, before activating the predefined command, the UP function is configured with the actual PCC command. This is usually done in NR using O&M tools. The PCC command itself is not predefined, but the way it is provided makes it predefined or dynamic.

In step III of FIG. 7 , the SMF 100 receives the first control message 510 from the PCF 600 .

In an example of the present invention, the SMF 100 processes the PCC instructions during the PFCP session establishment process. This may mean that the SMF 100 needs to instruct the UPF to activate a certain PCC instruction set.

The SMF 100 must determine whether the received dynamic PCC instructions match any PCC instructions that are marked or indicated at the SMF 100 as predefined PCC instructions and therefore to be activated for the UPF. There are two main cases how the SMF 100 may determine that the received PCC instructions are to be activated for the UPF.

In an example of the present invention, determining that the received PCC instruction is to be activated includes determining that the received PCC instruction matches the predefined PCC instruction based on the identifier ID1 of the received PCC instruction and the identifier ID2 of the predefined PCC instruction. For example, if the identifier is a string or a number, the string or number is compared according to a known method. If the identifiers (e.g., in the form of a string or a number) are the same, they match.

In the example of the present invention, alternatively, determining to activate the received PCC instruction includes receiving a third information element IE3 from PCF 600. The third information element IE3 directly indicates that SMF 100 activates the received PCC instruction as a predefined PCC instruction for UPF300. Therefore, in the example of the present invention, the first control message 510 indicates or includes the third information element IE3, which is also shown in Figure 7. In this case, SMF 100 does not need to perform any instruction comparison or matching as in the previous case. SMF 100 only executes the instruction received from PCF 600. Therefore, in the case where PCF 600 also sends one or more dynamic instruction IDs that should be used as one or more predefined instructions, the SMF function is further simplified. However, this may require a CR to 3GPP TS 29.512, which specifies how to send an indication about a predefined instruction name together with a dynamic instruction ID.

If the SMF 100 determines in step III of FIG. 7 that the received PCC instruction is to be activated for the UPF, the SMF 100 instructs the UPF 300 to install the predefined PCC instruction via the N4 interface through transmission of the second control message 520 .

Activating the PCC instructions may be understood as applying the PCC instructions to incoming and outgoing traffic to the client device.

Therefore, in step IV of Figure 7, the SMF 300 generates a second control message 520 and sends the second control message 520 to the UPF 300. The second control message 520 indicates or includes at least two information elements, namely, a first information element IE1 and a second information element IE2. The first information element IE1 indicates that the UPF 300 installs the received PCC instruction as a predefined PCC instruction, and the second information element IE2 indicates that the user plane device 300 activates the received PCC instruction.

In an example of the present invention, there is at least one of the following: a first information element IE1 includes an identification ID1 of a received PCC instruction to be installed; and a second information element IE2 includes an identification ID2 of a predefined PCC instruction to be activated. The identification may be given as a name string, such as an octet string.

As mentioned above, the signaling between the SMF 100 and the UPF 300 may be included in the PFCP session establishment process, and in this case, the second control message 520 may be a PFCP session establishment request message.

In addition, if the PCC instruction in the first control message 510 from the PCF 600 is a PDR, the second information element IE2 in the second control message 520 may also instruct the UPF 300 to activate at least one of the following: FAR, QER and URR of the PDR. This means that any combination of the mentioned FAR, QER and URR may be indicated together or separately depending on the application. It should be noted that the PDR may contain pointers to the corresponding FAR, QER and URR because the IDs of the FAR, QER and URR are indicated by pointers.

In 3GPP NR, during the activation of a PFCP session, the SMF 100 sends a PDR IE to the UPF 300, which contains packet detection instructions and packet processing instructions, such as FAR and QER. In addition, it also includes how the UPF 300 should report data usage, i.e., URR. Once the SMF 100 detects (for example, the SMF 100 obtains an indication from the PCF 600) that the PFCP session being activated can be handled by the predefined PCC instructions, instead of sending the full set of PDR IEs to the UPF 300, the SMF 100 will send the PCC instruction name (in the "Activate Predefined Rules" IE) and basic session-specific parameters that cannot be known in advance or may change over time, such as UE IP address, service endpoint ID, local F-TEID, or any other relevant session-specific parameters. Therefore, the UPF 300 will apply the predefined PCC instructions to the UP service for that particular session. In summary, currently operators configure the predefined PCC instructions in the UPF. These predefined PCC instructions instruct the UPF 300 how to detect packets subject to certain implementation instructions (PDR, PDI). The implementation instructions instruct the UPF which packets should be forwarded (FAR), which QoS should be applied to the forwarded packets (QER), and how data usage should be reported (URR). The SMF 100 uses the process described above to activate one or more predefined PCC instructions for the UE at the session, bearer or service flow granularity.

7, the UPF 300 receives the second control message 520 from the SMF 100 through the N4 interface. When the second control message 520 is received during the initial PCC instruction processing, the UPF 300 installs the PPC instruction.

7, the UPF 300 implements the predefined and installed PCC command for at least one UE 800 upon receiving the second control message 520. The UPF 300 supporting new features should install FAR, URR and QER (and corresponding IDs) as predefined PCC commands.

7, when the request to activate the PCC instruction is successfully executed, the UPF 300 sends a response message 530 to the SMF 100. In the example of the present invention, in the PFCP session establishment process, the response message 530 may be a PFCP session establishment response message.

In optional step VIII in Figure 7, SMF 100 receives a response message 530 from UPF 300. Upon receiving the response message 530, SMF 100 marks the PCC instruction as being installed in UPF, so that SMF 100 does not need to install the instruction into UPF next time.

In addition, the next time the same PCC instruction needs to be used for the same or different UE, the SMF 100 can utilize the predefined PCC instruction that has been installed. Therefore, Figure 8 shows an example of the present invention in the case where the predefined PPC instruction has been installed in the UPF 300. If the SMF 100 determines that the predefined PCC instruction will no longer be used, the SMF 100 can instruct the UPF 300 to remove the predefined PCC instruction. This may require a CR to 3GPP TS 29.244, which will add new IE type definitions, such as modifying predefined instruction IEs, removing predefined IEs, and adding these new IEs to the corresponding PFCP procedures.

In addition, when the SMF 100 establishes a session for the UE by sending a dynamic PCC instruction, if the SMF 100 determines that the dynamic PCC instruction matches a predefined PCC instruction, then in addition to the dynamic instruction, the SMF 100 may also send an instruction to re-use the dynamic PCC instruction by installing the dynamic PCC instruction as a predefined PCC instruction to the UPF 300. This may require a CR to 3GPP TS 29.244, which will add a new IE type definition, such as installing a predefined instruction IE, and adding the new IE to the PFCP session establishment request.

In step 1 of Figure 8, SMF 100 determines whether the new PFCP session will use predefined PCC instructions. For example, if the PCC instructions match the predefined PCC instructions that have been installed, then instead of sending dynamic PCC instructions to UPF 300, SMF 100 can instruct UPF 300 to implement the predefined PCC instructions that have been installed in UPF 300.

In step II of Figure 8, in the PFCP session establishment request, the SMF 100 instructs the UPF 300 to implement the predefined PCC instructions for a given PDR that have been installed by sending a third control message 540 to the UPF 300. The third control message 540 may include a PDI IE, in which the Activate Predefined Instructions IE (including the instruction name) is already included.

In step III of FIG. 8 , UPF 300 receives a third control message 540 from SMF 100 .

In step IV of FIG. 8 , based on the received activation predefined instruction IE in the third control message 540 , the UPF 300 implements the installed PCC instruction, for example, at least one of FAR, QER and URR when the PCC instruction is PDR.

In step V of FIG. 8 , if successful, the UPF 300 sends a PFCP session establishment response message 530 to the SMF 100 .

In step VI of Figure 8, SMF 100 receives the PFCP session establishment response message 530 from UPF 300.

If the SMF 100 decides to modify or remove an already installed predefined PCC instruction, a process similar to that described in FIG8 may be performed. For these situations, the SMF 100 may use the Modify Predefined Instructions IE and the Delete Predefined Instructions IE, respectively. The Activate/Modify/Remove Predefined Instructions IE may contain an instruction name and three flags indicating any combination of the aforementioned FAR, QER, and URR. In other words, the Activate/Modify/Remove Predefined Instructions will indicate to the UPF 300 whether the action (e.g., forwarding data units and application quality enforcement) is only related to FAR, QER, or URR, or any combination thereof.

The use of instruction names and flags can also be used to modify predefined instructions IE and delete predefined instructions IE. Alternatively, instead of adding a flag to the activation/modification/deletion predefined instructions IE, as specified in clauses 8.2.54, 8.2.74 and 8.2.75 of 3GPP TS 29.244, the most significant bit (MSB) set in octet 5 can be used for FAR/QER/URR ID. When this bit is set to 1, this indicates that the corresponding instruction carried in the message is a predefined instruction, that is, the corresponding instruction is not a dynamic instruction. For dynamic instructions, the MSB is set to 0.

The following non-restrictive protocol level details may be proposed for 3GPP TS 29.244:

As an option, if both SMF and UPF support predefined instruction/rule management over the N4 interface (PRM-N4, see clause 8.2.25) and if the following conditions are met, predefined PCC instructions/rules can be installed in the UPF by the SMF during the PFCP session establishment process. If the SMF activates dynamic PCC instructions/rules in the UPF and the SMF has matching predefined instructions/rules that are not installed in the UPF, the SMF will send an Install Predefined Instructions/Rules IE to the UPF (see clause 7.5.2.2). How the SMF identifies the matching predefined instructions/rules depends on the implementation, or the PCF can send the instruction/rule name within the PCC instruction/rule. The predefined PCC instructions/rules installed by the SMF can be modified or removed by the SMF during the PFCP session modification or deletion process, respectively.

In this regard, the following non-limiting IEs may also be proposed based on the sections in the table below.

Table 7.5.2.2-1: Creation of PDR IE in PFCP Session Establishment Request

Table 7.5.4.2-1: Update PDR IE in PFCP Session Modify Request

FIG9 shows a non-limiting communication system 500 according to an example of the present invention. The communication system 500 includes a client device 800 (e.g., UE) and a radio network access node 810 (e.g., BS, eNodeB, gNB, etc.), and the client device 800 and the radio network access node 810 are used to operate in the wireless communication system 500 according to a predefined standard, for example, through uplink (UL) communication and downlink (DL) communication. The communication system 500 also includes a UPF 300 communicatively coupled to the radio network access node 810. The UPF 300 is in turn communicatively coupled to the SMF 100, which is used to send a second control message 520 to the UPF 300 for PCC processing. In addition, the PCF 600 is communicatively coupled to the SMF 100 and is used to send a first control message 510 to the SMF 100.

The network access node in the present invention includes, but is not limited to: a NodeB in a wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) system, an evolutionary Node B (eNB) or an evolved NodeB (eNodeB) in an LTE system, or a relay node or access point, or a gNB in a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, or a fifth generation (5G) network. In addition, the network access node in this article may be represented as a radio network access node, an access network access node, an access point, or a base station (e.g., a radio base station (RBS)), which may be referred to as a transmitter, "gNB", "gNodeB", "eNB", "eNodeB", "NodeB", or "B node" in some networks depending on the technology and terminology used. Based on the transmission power and thus also based on the cell size, the radio network access node may have different categories, such as a macro eNodeB, a home eNodeB, or a micro base station. The radio network access node may be a station (STA), which is any device that includes a MAC and PHY interface compliant with IEEE 802.11 to a wireless medium. The radio network access node may also be a base station corresponding to a 5G wireless system.

The client device in the present invention includes but is not limited to: UE, such as smart phones, cellular phones, cordless phones, session initiation protocol (SIP) phones, wireless local loop (WLL) stations, personal digital assistants (PDAs), handheld devices with wireless communication functions, computing devices or other processing devices connected to wireless modems, vehicle-mounted devices, wearable devices; integrated access and backhaul (IAB) nodes, such as mobile cars or equipment installed in cars, drones, device-to-device (D2D) devices, wireless cameras, mobile stations, access terminals, user units, wireless communication devices, wireless local access network (WLAN) stations, wireless tablets, laptop embedded devices, universal serial bus (USB) converters, wireless customer-premises equipment (CPE); and/or chipsets. In the Internet of things (IOT) scenario, the client device can represent a machine or another device or chipset that communicates with another wireless device and/or network equipment.

UE may also be referred to as a mobile phone, a cellular phone, a computer tablet or a laptop with wireless capabilities. In this context, a UE may be, for example, a portable, pocket storage, handheld, computer built-in or vehicle-mounted mobile device capable of transmitting voice and/or data with another entity (e.g., another receiver or server) via a radio access network. A UE may be a station (STA), which is any device that includes a media access control (MAC) and physical layer (PHY) interface compliant with IEEE802.11 to a wireless medium (WM). A UE may also be used to communicate in 3GPP-related LTE and LTE-Advanced, in WiMAX and its evolution, and in fifth-generation wireless technologies such as NR.

In addition, any method according to the example of the present invention can be implemented with a computer program having a code unit, which causes the processing device to perform the steps of the method when the processing device is run. The computer program is included in the computer-readable medium of the computer program product. The computer-readable medium can basically include any memory, such as a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable PROM (EPROM), a flash memory, an electrically erasable EPROM (EEPROM) or a hard disk drive.

In addition, those skilled in the art recognize that the examples of the first control plane device 100, the second control plane device 600, and the user plane device 300 include necessary communication capabilities in the form of, for example, functions, means, units, elements, etc., for performing the solution. Examples of other such means, units, elements, and functions are: processors, memories, buffers, control logic, encoders, decoders, rate matchers, derate matchers, mapping units, multipliers, decision units, selection units, switches, interleavers, deinterleavers, modulators, demodulators, inputs, outputs, antennas, amplifiers, receiver units, transmitter units, DSPs, MSDs, TCM encoders, TCM decoders, power supply units, power feeders, communication interfaces, communication protocols, etc., which are appropriately arranged together to perform the solution.

In particular, one or more processors of the first control plane device 100, the second control plane device 600, and the user plane device 300 may include, for example, one or more instances of a central processing unit (CPU), a processing unit, a processing circuit, a processor, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a microprocessor, or other processing logic that can interpret and execute instructions. The expression "processor" may therefore refer to a processing circuit system including a plurality of processing circuits, such as any, some, or all of the processing circuits mentioned above. The processing circuit system may also perform data processing functions for input, output, and processing of data, including data buffering and device control functions, such as call processing control, user interface control, etc.

Finally, it is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the examples described above, but also relates to and incorporates all examples within the scope of the appended independent claims.

Claims (18)

1. A first control plane device (100) for a communication system (500), characterized in that the first control plane device (100) is configured to:

receiving a first control message (510) from a second control plane device (600), wherein the first control message (510) comprises at least one policy and charging control, PCC, instruction;

determining whether the received PCC instruction is to be activated for the user plane device (300);

upon determining that the received PCC instruction is to be activated for the user plane device (300), sending a second control message (520) to the user plane device (300), wherein the second control message (520) comprises:

a first information element (IE 1) instructing the user plane device (300) to install the received PCC instruction as a predefined PCC instruction, and

-A second information element (IE 2) instructing the user plane device (300) to activate the received PCC instruction.

2. The first control surface device (100) according to claim 1, characterized by at least one of:

The first information element (IE 1) comprises an identification (ID 1) of the received PCC instruction to be installed; and

The second information element (IE 2) comprises an identification (ID 2) of a predefined PCC instruction to be activated.

3. The first control plane device (100) according to claim 1, wherein the received PCC instruction is a packet detection rule PDR, the PDR indicating at least one of a forwarding action rule FAR, a quality of service enforcement rule QER, and a usage reporting rule URR; and wherein

The second information element (IE 2) instructs the user plane device (300) to activate at least one of the FAR, the QER and the URR.

4. The first control plane device (100) according to claim 1, wherein the first control message (510) is comprised in a protocol data unit, PDU, session establishment procedure.

5. The first control plane device (100) according to claim 1, wherein the second control message (520) is a packet forwarding control protocol, PFCP, session establishment request message.

6. The first control plane device (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein determining to activate the received PCC instruction comprises:

The received PCC instruction is determined to match the predefined PCC instruction based on an identification (ID 1) of the received PCC instruction and an identification (ID 2) of the predefined PCC instruction.

7. The first control plane device (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein determining to activate the received PCC instruction comprises:

-receiving a third information element (IE 3) comprised in the first control message (510), wherein the third information element (IE 3) instructs the first control plane device (100) to activate the received PCC instruction as a predefined PCC instruction for the user plane device (300).

8. A user plane device (300) for a communication system (500), the user plane device (300) being configured to:

receiving a second control message (520) from the first control plane device (100), wherein the second control message (520) comprises:

A first information element (IE 1) instructing the user plane device (300) to install at least one PCC instruction as a predefined PCC instruction, and

-A second information element (IE 2) instructing the user plane device (300) to activate the received PCC instruction.

9. The user plane device (300) of claim 8, configured to:

Upon receiving the second control message (520), the predefined PCC instructions are implemented for at least one client device (800).

10. The user plane device (300) according to claim 8, wherein at least one of:

The first information element (IE 1) comprises an identification (ID 1) of the received PCC instruction to be installed; and

The second information element (IE 2) comprises an identification (ID 2) of a predefined PCC instruction to be activated.

11. The user plane device (300) according to any of claims 8 to 10, wherein the received PCC instruction is a PDR indicating at least one of FAR, QER and URR; and

The second information element (IE 2) instructs the user plane device (300) to activate at least one of the FAR, the QER and the URR.

12. The user plane device (300) according to any of claims 8 to 10, wherein the second control message (520) is a PFCP session establishment request message.

13. A second control plane device (600) for a communication system (500), characterized in that the second control plane device (600) is adapted to:

-sending a first control message (510) to a first control plane device (100), wherein the first control message (510) comprises:

at least one PCC instruction, and

-A third information element (IE 3) indicating that the first control plane device (100) activates the PCC instruction as a predefined PCC instruction for a user plane device (300).

14. The second control plane device (600) according to claim 13, wherein the first control message (510) is included in a PDU session establishment procedure.

15. A method (200) for a first control surface device (100), the method (200) comprising:

-receiving (202) a first control message (510) from a second control plane device (600), wherein the first control message (510) comprises at least one PCC instruction;

determining whether the received PCC instruction is to be activated for the user plane device (300);

Upon determining (204) that the received PCC instruction is to be activated for the user plane device (300), sending (206) a second control message (520) to the user plane device (300), wherein the second control message (520) comprises:

a first information element (IE 1) instructing the user plane device (300) to install the received PCC instruction as a predefined PCC instruction, and

-A second information element (IE 2) instructing the user plane device (300) to activate the received PCC instruction.

16. A method (400) for a user plane device (300), the method (400) comprising:

-receiving (402) a second control message (520) from the first control plane device (100), wherein the second control message (520) comprises:

A first information element (IE 1) instructing the user plane device (300) to install at least one PCC instruction as a predefined PCC instruction, and

-A second information element (IE 2) instructing the user plane device (300) to activate the received PCC instruction.

17. A method (700) for a second control surface device (600), the method (700) comprising:

-sending (702) a first control message (510) to a first control plane device (100), wherein the first control message (510) comprises:

at least one PCC instruction, and

-A third information element (IE 3) indicating that the first control plane device (100) activates the PCC instruction as a predefined PCC instruction for a user plane device (300).

18. A computer readable storage medium storing program code for performing the method of claim 16 or 17 when the program code is run on a computer.