CN111328123B - Method and device for releasing network segment - Google Patents

Abstract

The present application provides a method and device for releasing a network segment, which relate to the field of communication technologies and are used to solve the problem that different PGW-Us release the same The network segment routing problem. The method includes: when the control plane gateway determines that no session uses the address in the first network segment, the control plane gateway sends a first message for instructing the data plane gateway to release the first network segment to the data plane gateway occupying the first network segment , the control plane gateway receives a second message from the data plane gateway for indicating that the data plane gateway has released the first network segment, and releases the first network segment according to the second message. The control plane gateway releases the first network segment after the data plane gateway releases the first network segment, so that the first network segment will not be allocated to the two data plane gateways, preventing the two data plane gateways from publishing the same network segment routing.

Description

Method and device for releasing network segment

technical field

The present application relates to the field of communication technologies, and in particular, to a method and apparatus for releasing a network segment.

Background technique

In an evolved packet system (EPS) network in which the control plane (CP) and the user plane (UP) are separated, during the activation process of the session, the packet data gateway control plane function (packet A data network gateway control plane function, PGW-C for short) allocates an internet protocol (IP) address to the session.

The route of downlink data from Operator's IP Servers to users is issued by the packet data network gateway user plane function (PGW-U for short), in order to avoid PGW-U for each session The problem of too many routes in the network caused by all advertising a path (that is, a host route), the PGW-U advertises the network segment route when actually advertising the route. When two PGW-Us advertise the same network segment route, because the Operator's IP Servers will send service data through any one of the two PGW-Us, and the users served by the two PGW-Us are different users , therefore, users may not receive business data. To avoid this problem, it is necessary to ensure that sessions using addresses in the same network segment are activated on the same PGW-U. Moreover, when all addresses in a network segment are not used for sessions, both the PGW-C and the PGW-U need to release the network segment.

In the case that the Sxb interface link between PGW-C and PGW-U1 is disconnected, during the deactivation of session 1, the packet forwarding sent by PGW-C to PGW-U1 for PGW-U1 to delete session 1 A packet forwarding control protocol (PFCP for short) message may fail to reach the PGW-U1. Then, the session 1 is deleted in the PGW-C, and the session resources of the session 1 are still reserved in the PGW-U1. When the last session on the PGW-C using the address in the network segment 1 (the network segment to which the IP address of session 1 belongs) is deactivated, the PGW-C releases the network segment 1 and may assign the network segment 1 to the PGW- U2, but PGW-U1 will not release network segment 1 because it thinks that session 1 is still using the address in network segment 1. At this time, PGW-U1 and PGW-U2 will advertise the same network segment route, so that users may not be able to receive service data.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The embodiments of the present application provide a method and device for releasing a network segment, which are used to solve the problem that different PGW-Us release the same network segment when the Sxb interface link between PGW-C and PGW-U is flashed. routing problem.

To achieve the above purpose, the embodiments of the present application provide the following technical solutions:

In a first aspect, a method for releasing a network segment is provided, including: when the control plane gateway determines that no session uses the address in the first network segment, the control plane gateway sends an instruction to the data plane gateway occupying the first network segment to indicate The data plane gateway releases a first message of the first network segment, and the control plane gateway receives a second message from the data plane gateway for indicating that the data plane gateway releases the first network segment, and releases the first network segment according to the second message. In the method provided by the first aspect, the control plane gateway releases the first network segment after the data plane gateway releases the first network segment, so that the first network segment is not allocated to the two data plane gateways and avoids two data planes. The gateway advertises the same network segment route.

In a second aspect, a method for releasing a network segment is provided, comprising: a data plane gateway receiving a first message from a control plane gateway, and releasing the first network segment according to the first message, where the first message is used to instruct the data plane gateway to release the first message A network segment; the data plane gateway sends a second message to the control plane gateway, where the second message is used to instruct the data plane gateway to release the first network segment. In the method provided in the second aspect, the control plane gateway releases the first network segment after the data plane gateway releases the first network segment, so that the first network segment is not allocated to the two data plane gateways and avoids two data planes. The gateway advertises the same network segment route.

A third aspect provides a method for releasing a network segment, comprising: when the control plane gateway determines that no session uses the address in the first network segment, the control plane gateway sends a first message to the data plane gateway occupying the first network segment , the first message is used to instruct the data plane gateway to release the first network segment; the control plane gateway does not receive a response message to the first message, and sends the first message to the data plane gateway at regular intervals. If the response message of the first message is not received in the segment, the control plane gateway releases the network segment allocated to the data plane gateway; wherein, the start time of the first preset time period is the time when the control plane gateway sends the first first message. time, or the start time of the first preset time period is the time when the control plane gateway determines that the interface link between the gateway and the data plane gateway is interrupted; the data plane gateway determines that the interface link between the gateway and the control plane gateway is interrupted; the data The plane gateway releases the network segment allocated by the control plane gateway in the data plane gateway after a second preset time period, and the second preset time period is smaller than the first preset time period. In the method provided by the third aspect, since the first preset time period is greater than the second preset time period, after the data plane gateway releases the network segment allocated by the control plane gateway in the data plane gateway, it releases the network segment allocated in the control plane gateway to the The network segment of the data plane gateway, so that the same network segment will not be allocated to two data plane gateways, preventing two data plane gateways from advertising the same network segment route.

A fourth aspect provides a method for releasing a network segment, including: a data plane gateway determines an invalid network segment of the data plane gateway by performing network segment verification with a control plane gateway, and releases the invalid network segment of the data plane gateway; wherein, the data The invalid network segment of the plane gateway refers to the network segment among all the network segments allocated by the control plane gateway in the data plane gateway, except all the network segments recorded on the control plane gateway and allocated to the data plane gateway. In the method provided by the fourth aspect, by releasing the invalid network segment of the data plane gateway, it can be avoided that the data plane gateway and the data plane gateway occupying the invalid network segment of the data plane gateway publish the same network segment route.

A fifth aspect provides a method for releasing a network segment, comprising: a control plane gateway sending at least one verification request to a data plane gateway, where the at least one verification request includes all network segments allocated to the data plane gateway recorded on the control plane gateway. information. In the method provided by the fifth aspect, the control plane gateway sends a verification request to the data plane gateway, so that the data plane gateway can perform network segment verification.

A sixth aspect provides a method for releasing a network segment, comprising: a control plane gateway receiving at least one verification request from a data plane gateway, and the at least one verification request includes information on all network segments allocated by the control plane gateway in the data plane gateway; The control plane gateway determines, according to at least one verification request, whether each network segment in all network segments allocated by the control plane gateway in the data plane gateway is recorded on the control plane gateway and has been allocated to the data plane gateway; the control plane gateway sends the data plane gateway to the data plane gateway. At least one verification response, the at least one verification response includes whether each of all network segments in the data plane gateway allocated by the control plane gateway records information allocated to the data plane gateway on the control plane gateway. In the method provided by the sixth aspect, the control plane gateway sends a verification response to the data plane gateway according to the verification request, so that the data plane gateway can perform network segment verification.

A seventh aspect provides a method for releasing a network segment, comprising: a first data plane gateway determines that a control plane gateway is reset and restarted; the first data plane gateway releases the first data before the control plane gateway is reset and restarted The network segment allocated by the gateway. In the method provided by the seventh aspect, the first data plane gateway first releases the network segment, and then deletes the session. The release of the network segment does not depend on the deletion of the session, thereby ensuring the rapid recovery of the network segment.

In an eighth aspect, a method for releasing a network segment is provided, including: when a control plane gateway is reset and restarted, refusing to activate a new session; the control plane gateway receives the first data sent by all data plane gateways connected to the control plane gateway. Three messages and/or at least one fourth message; a third message sent by a data plane gateway is used to instruct the data plane gateway to release the network segment allocated for the data plane gateway before the reset and restart of the control plane gateway, and a data plane gateway At least one fourth message sent by the gateway includes information of the network segment allocated to the data plane gateway before the control plane gateway in the data plane gateway is reset and restarted; the control plane gateway allows activation of a new session. In the method provided in the eighth aspect, since the control plane gateway does not know which network segments are occupied by which data plane gateways after reset and restart, the control plane gateway can reject the activation of the new session, and if a session activation request is received, the control plane The gateway can return an activation failure response message, thereby preventing the same network segment from being assigned to different data plane gateways.

In a ninth aspect, a communication device is provided, including: a communication unit and a processing unit; the processing unit is configured to determine that an address in the first network segment is used without a session; the communication unit is configured to send a data plane gateway a first message, where the first message is used to instruct the data plane gateway to release the first network segment, where the data plane gateway is a data plane gateway occupying the first network segment; the communication unit, is further configured to receive a second message from the data plane gateway, where the second message is used to instruct the data plane gateway to release the first network segment; the processing unit is further configured to, according to the second message Release the first network segment. In the communication device provided in the ninth aspect, the first network segment is released after the data plane gateway releases the first network segment, so that the first network segment is not allocated to two data plane gateways and avoids two data plane gateways Advertise the same network segment route. The communication device may be a control plane gateway.

In a possible implementation manner, the processing unit is specifically configured to: when the communication apparatus receives the deactivation request of the first session, determine whether the first session is using the first network segment The address of the last session, if so, determine that no session uses the address in the first network segment. This possible implementation provides a method for the communication device to determine that the address in the first network segment is used without a session.

In a possible implementation manner, the first message includes a first timestamp, where the first timestamp is used to indicate the time when the communication apparatus sends the first message. In this possible implementation manner, the communication device may release the first network segment only when the timestamp of the local session is earlier than the first timestamp according to the first timestamp, otherwise, the first network segment is not released, thereby preventing the session from being invalidated. Accidental deletion and accidental release of network segments.

A tenth aspect provides a communication device, comprising: a communication unit and a processing unit; the communication unit is configured to receive a first message from a control plane gateway, where the first message is used to instruct the communication device to release the a first network segment; the processing unit is configured to release the first network segment according to the first message; the communication unit is further configured to send a second message to the control plane gateway, the second message is used to instruct the communication device to release the first network segment. In the communication device provided in the tenth aspect, the second message sent can be used by the control plane gateway to determine that the communication device has released the first network segment, so that the control plane gateway releases the first network segment after the communication device releases the first network segment, Therefore, the first network segment will not be allocated to the two communication apparatuses, so as to prevent the two communication apparatuses from publishing the same network segment route. The communication device may be a data plane gateway.

In a possible implementation manner, the processing unit is further configured to delete the local session using the address in the first network segment. In this possible implementation manner, resources (for example, storage resources) of the communication device can be fully released.

In a possible implementation manner, the first message includes a first timestamp, where the first timestamp is used to indicate the time when the control plane gateway sends the first message, and the processing unit, specifically Used for: judging whether there is a local session using the address in the first network segment according to the first message; if so, comparing the timestamp for creating the local session with the first timestamp; if creating the local session The time stamp of the session is earlier than the first time stamp, and the first network segment is released. In this possible implementation manner, the communication device may release the first network segment according to the first timestamp when the timestamp of the local session is earlier than the first timestamp, otherwise, the first network segment will not be released, thereby preventing session errors. Deletion and mistaken release of network segments.

In an eleventh aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising: a first module and a second module; the first module includes a first communication unit and a first processing unit; the second module includes a second processing unit; The first processing unit is configured to determine that the address in the first network segment is used without a session; the first communication unit is configured to send a first message to the second module, where the first message is used to indicate the second The module releases the first network segment, wherein the second module is a second module occupying the first network segment; the first communication unit is further used for not receiving a response to the first message In the case of a message, send the first message to the second module at regular intervals; the first processing unit is further configured to not receive the first message within the first preset time period. In the case of a response message, release the network segment allocated to the second module; the start time of the first preset time period is the time when the first module sends the first first message, or the first The starting time of a preset time period is the time when the first module determines that the interface link between the first module and the second module is interrupted; the second processing unit is used to determine the time between the first module and the first module. The interface link is interrupted; the second processing unit is further configured to release the network segment allocated by the first module in the second module after a second preset time period, the second preset time period less than the first preset time period. In the communication device provided in the eleventh aspect, since the first preset time period is greater than the second preset time period, the second module releases the network segment allocated by the first module in the second module, and then releases the allocation in the first module The network segment is assigned to the second module, so that the same network segment will not be allocated to two second modules, so as to prevent the two second modules from publishing the same network segment route. The first module may be a control plane gateway, and the second module may be a data plane gateway.

In a possible implementation manner, the second processing unit is further configured to delete the local session using the address in the network segment allocated by the first module. In this possible implementation manner, resources (for example, storage resources) of the second module can be fully released.

A twelfth aspect provides a communication device, comprising: a communication unit and a processing unit; the processing unit is configured to use the communication unit and a control plane gateway to perform network segment verification to determine an invalid network segment of the communication device; Wherein, the invalid network segment of the communication device refers to all network segments in the communication device allocated by the control plane gateway, except all network segments recorded on the control plane gateway that have been allocated to the communication device the network segment other than the segment; the processing unit is further configured to release the invalid network segment of the communication device. In the communication device provided in the twelfth aspect, by releasing the invalid network segment of the communication device, it can be avoided that the communication device and the communication device occupying the invalid network segment of the communication device issue the same network segment route. The communication device may be a data plane gateway.

In a possible implementation manner, the processing unit is further configured to delete the local session using the address in the invalid network segment of the communication device. In this possible implementation manner, resources (for example, storage resources) of the communication device can be fully released.

In a possible implementation manner, the processing unit is specifically configured to: receive at least one verification request from the control plane gateway by using the communication unit, where the at least one verification request includes the information recorded on the control plane gateway Information on all network segments allocated to the communication device; according to the at least one verification request, all network segments in the communication device allocated by the control plane gateway and belonging to the records recorded on the control plane gateway Marking network segments in all network segments allocated to the communication device; determining unmarked network segments in all network segments allocated by the control plane gateway in the communication device as invalid for the communication device network segment. This possible implementation provides a method for checking a network segment.

In a possible implementation manner, the processing unit is specifically configured to: use the communication unit to send at least one verification request to the control plane gateway, where the at least one verification request includes the communication device in the communication device. information of all network segments allocated by the control plane gateway; receive at least one verification response from the control plane gateway using the communication unit, the at least one verification response including all the communication devices allocated by the control plane gateway Whether each network segment in the network segment records the information allocated to the communication device on the control plane gateway; according to the at least one verification response, all the information allocated by the control plane gateway in the communication device The network segment in the network segment that is recorded on the control plane gateway and allocated to the communication device is determined to be an invalid network segment of the communication device. This possible implementation provides another method for checking network segments.

In a possible implementation manner, if the at least one verification request is multiple verification requests, the last verification request in the multiple verification requests includes an end marker bit, and the end marker bit is used to indicate the belonging The verification request is the last verification request. In this possible implementation manner, the communication device (or the control plane gateway) can determine the starting verification request and the ending verification request, so as to determine whether the control plane gateway (or the communication device) has sent the information of the network segment that needs to be sent.

A thirteenth aspect provides a communication device, comprising: a communication unit and a processing unit; the processing unit is configured to send at least one verification request to a data plane gateway through the communication unit, where the at least one verification request includes all information recorded on the communication device and allocated to all network segments of the data plane gateway. In the communication device provided by the thirteenth aspect, the communication device sends a verification request to the data plane gateway, so that the data plane gateway can perform network segment verification. The communication device may be a control plane gateway.

A fourteenth aspect provides a communication device, comprising: a communication unit and a processing unit; the communication unit is configured to receive at least one verification request from a data plane gateway, where the at least one verification request includes the data plane gateway information of all network segments allocated by the communication device in Whether the segment is recorded on the communication device and has been allocated to the data plane gateway; the communication unit is further configured to send at least one verification response to the data plane gateway, the at least one verification response including the data plane gateway Whether each network segment in all network segments allocated by the communication device records the information allocated to the data plane gateway on the communication device. In the communication device provided by the fourteenth aspect, the communication device sends a verification response to the data plane gateway according to the verification request, so that the data plane gateway can perform network segment verification. The communication device may be a control plane gateway.

A fifteenth aspect provides a communication device, comprising: a processing unit; the processing unit is configured to determine the reset and restart of a control plane gateway, and release the network segment allocated for the communication device before the reset and restart of the control plane gateway . In the communication device provided by the fifteenth aspect, by first releasing the network segment and then deleting the session, the release of the network segment does not depend on the deletion of the session, thereby ensuring the rapid recovery of the network segment. The communication device may be a first data plane gateway.

In a possible implementation manner, the communication device further includes: a communication unit; the communication unit is configured to send a third message to the control plane gateway, where the third message is used to instruct the communication device to release The network segment allocated to the communication device before the reset and restart of the control plane gateway is completed. In this possible implementation manner, the control plane gateway can determine that the release of the network segment allocated before the reset and restart of the control plane gateway on the communication device is completed, so that the control plane gateway can unlock the network segment.

In a possible implementation manner, the processing unit is further configured to delete the local session using the address in the network segment allocated to the communication device before the control plane gateway resets and restarts. In this possible implementation manner, resources (for example, storage resources) of the communication device can be fully released.

In a possible implementation manner, the communication unit is further configured to send at least one fourth message to the control plane gateway, where the at least one fourth message includes information of the network segment of the communication device.

In a possible implementation manner, the last fourth message in the at least one fourth message includes an end flag bit, and the end flag bit is used to indicate that the belonging fourth message is the last fourth message.

A sixteenth aspect provides a communication device, comprising: a processing unit and a communication unit; the processing unit is configured to reject the activation of a new session when the communication device is reset and restarted; the communication unit is configured to receive and communicate with the The third message and/or at least one fourth message sent by all data plane gateways connected to the communication device; the third message sent by one data plane gateway is used to instruct the data plane gateway to release the data plane before the communication device is reset and restarted. The network segment allocated by the data plane gateway, the at least one fourth message sent by a data plane gateway includes the information of the network segment allocated for the data plane gateway before the communication device in the data plane gateway is reset and restarted; the processing unit, also Used to allow new sessions to activate. In the communication device provided by the sixteenth aspect, since the communication device does not know which network segments are occupied by which data plane gateways after reset and restart, the communication device can reject the activation of a new session, and if a session activation request is received, the communication device An activation failure response message can be returned to prevent the same network segment from being assigned to different data plane gateways. The communication device may be a control plane gateway.

In a possible implementation manner, in the case that the communication device only receives at least one fourth message sent by all data plane gateways connected to the communication device, the processing unit is further configured to provide the newly activated The session allocates addresses in network segments other than the network segment allocated before the communication device in the all data plane gateways is reset and restarted. In this possible implementation manner, after the communication device receives at least one fourth message sent by all data plane gateways connected to the communication device, the communication device knows which network segments are occupied by which data plane gateways, therefore , the communication device can allow the new session to be activated, but the address allocated for the newly activated session should not be the address in the network segment allocated before the reset and restart of the communication device in all data plane gateways, thereby preventing the same network segment from being allocated to different data plane gateways.

In a possible implementation manner, when the communication device only receives at least one fourth message sent by all data plane gateways connected to the communication device, the processing unit is further configured to lock the all data plane gateways connected to the communication device. The communication device in the data plane gateway resets the network segment allocated before restarting; the communication unit is further configured to receive a third message from the first data plane gateway; the processing unit is further configured to store the acquired The network segment allocated to the first data plane gateway is unlocked before the communication device is reset and restarted. In this possible implementation manner, the communication device locks the network segments of the data plane gateway, thereby preventing the communication device from allocating these network segments to other data plane gateways before the PGW-U releases the network segments, thereby avoiding the release of the two data plane gateways. The same network segment route.

In a possible implementation manner, the last fourth message in the at least one fourth message includes an end flag bit, and the end flag bit is used to indicate that the belonging fourth message is the last fourth message.

A seventeenth aspect provides a communication device, the communication device comprising: a memory, a processor, at least one communication interface and a communication bus; the memory is used to store computer execution instructions, and the processor, the memory and the at least one communication interface pass through the communication bus connection, the processor executes the computer-executed instructions stored in the memory, so that the communication device implements any one of the methods provided in the first aspect; or, the method performed by the control plane gateway in any one of the methods provided in the third aspect; or, the first The method provided by the fifth aspect; or, the method provided by the sixth aspect; or, any one of the methods provided by the eighth aspect. The communication device may exist in the form of a chip product.

In an eighteenth aspect, a communication device is provided, the communication device comprising: a memory, a processor, at least one communication interface and a communication bus; the memory is used for storing computer execution instructions, and the processor, the memory and the at least one communication interface pass through the communication bus connected, the processor executes the computer-executed instructions stored in the memory, so that the communication device implements any one of the methods provided in the second aspect; or, the method performed by the data plane gateway in any one of the methods provided in the third aspect; or, the first Any one of the methods provided by the fourth aspect; or, any one of the methods provided by the seventh aspect. The communication device may exist in the form of a chip product.

In a nineteenth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, comprising instructions that, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to execute any one of the methods provided in the first aspect; or, any one of the methods provided in the third aspect The method performed by the control plane gateway in ; or, the method provided by the fifth aspect; or, the method provided by the sixth aspect; or, any one of the methods provided by the eighth aspect.

In a twentieth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, including instructions, which, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform any one of the methods provided by the second aspect; or, any one of the methods provided by the third aspect The method performed by the data plane gateway in the above; or, any one of the methods provided by the fourth aspect; or, any one of the methods provided by the seventh aspect. The communication device may exist in the form of a chip product.

A twenty-first aspect provides a computer program product containing instructions that, when run on a computer, cause the computer to execute any one of the methods provided by the first aspect; or, in any one of the methods provided by the third aspect The method performed by the control plane gateway; or, the method provided by the fifth aspect; or, the method provided by the sixth aspect; or, any one of the methods provided by the eighth aspect.

A twenty-second aspect provides a computer program product containing instructions that, when run on a computer, cause the computer to execute any one of the methods provided by the second aspect; or, in any one of the methods provided by the third aspect The method performed by the data plane gateway; or, any one of the methods provided by the fourth aspect; or, any one of the methods provided by the seventh aspect. The communication device may exist in the form of a chip product.

A twenty-third aspect provides a communication system, comprising: the control plane gateway in the first aspect and the data plane gateway in the second aspect; or, the control plane gateway and the data plane gateway in the third aspect; or, The data plane gateway in the fourth aspect and the control plane gateway in the fifth aspect (or the sixth aspect); the control plane gateway in the eighth aspect and the first data plane gateway in the seventh aspect.

It should be noted that various possible implementation manners of any one of the above aspects can be combined on the premise that the solutions are not contradictory.

Description of drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of an EPS network according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a hardware structure of a communication device provided by an embodiment of the present application;

3 to 5 are respectively flowcharts of a method for releasing a network segment provided by an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of the composition of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed ways

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Wherein, in the description of this application, unless otherwise specified, "/" means or means, for example, A/B can mean A or B. In this article, "and/or" is only an association relationship to describe the associated objects, which means that there can be three kinds of relationships, for example, A and/or B, which can mean that A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone these three situations. Also, in the description of the present application, unless stated otherwise, "plurality" means two or more than two. In addition, in order to clearly describe the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, in the embodiments of the present application, words such as "first" and "second" are used to distinguish the same or similar items with basically the same function and effect. Those skilled in the art can understand that the words "first", "second" and the like do not limit the quantity and execution order, and the words "first", "second" and the like are not necessarily different.

The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various data processing communication systems. For example, orthogonal frequency-division multiple access (OFDMA for short), single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA for short), and other systems. The term "system" is interchangeable with "network". The OFDMA system can implement wireless technologies such as evolved universal terrestrial access (evolved UTRA, E-UTRA for short), ultra mobile broadband (ultra mobile broadband, UMB for short). E-UTRA is an evolved version of a universal mobile telecommunications system (universal mobile telecommunications system, UMTS for short). The 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP for short) is a new version using E-UTRA in long term evolution (long term evolution, LTE for short) and various versions based on LTE evolution. The 5th-generation (5G for short) communication system and the new radio (NR for short) are the next-generation communication systems under study. In addition, the communication system may also be applicable to future-oriented communication technologies, and the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application are all applicable.

As shown in FIG. 1 , the EPS network may include the following multiple functional network elements: a terminal, an evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN for short) (specifically, an eNodeB), a service gateway (serving gateway, referred to as SGW), packet data gateway (packet data network gateway, referred to as PGW), mobility management network element (mobility management entity, referred to as MME), home subscriber server (home subscriber server, referred to as HSS), mobile switching center ( A mobile switching center, MSC for short) and a policy and charging rules function (policy and charging rules function, PCRF for short) network elements.

The 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP for short) standard defines an architecture in which the CP and the UP are separated. Under this architecture, the PGW is split into PGW-C and PGW-U, and the SGW is split into SGW-C and SGW-U. PGW-U and SGW-U are user plane functional elements, responsible for forwarding user data. One PGW-C may correspond to one or more PGW-Us, and one SGW-C may correspond to one or more SGW-Us. The interface between the PGW-C and the PGW-U is an Sxb interface, and the interface between the SGW-C and the SGW-U is an Sxa interface.

A user can access the network using multiple sessions, and each session requires an IP address to access the network. Therefore, in the process of a session activation, the PGW-C or an external server (for example, an Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting (AAA) server, a dynamic host configuration protocol (DHCP for short) ) server) can assign an IP address for the session, the IP address of the session is sent by PGW-C to PGW-U, and PGW-U publishes the route (i.e. host route) of downlink data from Operator's IP Servers to users.

If the PGW-U advertises a host route for each session, the number of routes advertised in the network is too large. Therefore, PGW-C not only informs PGW-U of the IP address of the session, but also informs the network segment to which the IP address of the session belongs (it can also be called an address segment or an address sub-segment, which means a continuous address). The PGW-U advertises the network segment route according to the network segment notified by the PGW-C, so as to reduce the number of routes advertised in the network.

When two PGW-Us advertise the same network segment route, users may not be able to receive service data. To avoid this problem, it is necessary to ensure that sessions using addresses in the same network segment are activated on the same PGW-U. For example, during the activation of the first session using the address in network segment 1, PGW-C assigns the first address in network segment 1 to the session. If it chooses to activate the session on PGW-U1, it will also Mark that the network segment 1 belongs to the PGW-U1 (that is, the network segment 1 is allocated to the PGW-U1). When a subsequent session is activated, the address in network segment 1 can only be assigned to the session activated on PGW-U1.

When all addresses in a network segment are not used for sessions, both PGW-C and PGW-U need to release the network segment. For PGW-U, if the deactivated session is the last session using an address in a certain network segment, PGW-U will delete the network segment route of this network segment, thereby releasing the network segment. For PGW-C, if the deactivated session is the last session using an address in a certain network segment, after sending the PFCP session deletionrequest message to PGW-U to delete the last session, PGW-C will The information allocated to the PGW-U on the network segment is cleared, and when another session is activated subsequently, the PGW-C can assign the address in the network segment to the other session, and the other session can be activated on any PGW-U.

The above-mentioned ways of releasing network segments by PGW-C and PGW-U have drawbacks in some scenarios, which will be described separately below.

Scenario 1. The Sxb interface link between PGW-C and PGW-U1 is disconnected

In this scenario, during the deactivation of session 1, the PFCP session deletion request (PFCP session deletion request) message sent by PGW-C to PGW-U1 for PGW-U1 to delete session 1 may not reach PGW-U1. Then, the session 1 is deleted in the PGW-C, and the session resources of the session 1 are still reserved in the PGW-U1. When the last session on the PGW-C using the address in the network segment 1 (the network segment to which the IP address of session 1 belongs) is deactivated, the PGW-C releases the network segment 1 and may assign the network segment 1 to the PGW- U2, but PGW-U1 will not release network segment 1 because it thinks that session 1 is still using the address in network segment 1. At this time, PGW-U1 and PGW-U2 will advertise the same network segment route, so that users may not be able to receive service data.

Scenario 2. The Sxb interface link between PGW-C and PGW-U1 is interrupted

In this scenario, PGW-U1 will initiate batch deletion of sessions after sensing the failure of the Sxb interface link with PGW-C. During the last session, PGW-U1 will also release the network segment. However, in order to avoid misjudgment, it takes a period of time between PGW-U1 sensing the failure of the Sxb interface link with PGW-C and deciding to initiate batch deletion of sessions. It also takes some time for the PGW-U1 to complete the batch deletion of sessions. During these two periods, if the last session using an address in a certain network segment is deactivated, the PGW-C will release the network segment. If PGW-C assigns the network segment to PGW-U2 during these two periods, PGW-U1 and PGW-U2 will advertise the same network segment route, so that users may not be able to receive service data.

Scenario 3. PGW-C resets and restarts

In this scenario, the PGW-C will lose the assignment of the IP address of the session and the assignment of the network segment. When a subsequent session is activated, the PGW-C cannot allocate an IP address for the session according to the previous network segment allocation, so the address in the network segment previously allocated to PGW-U1 may be allocated to the network segment activated on PGW-U2. session, different PGW-Us will advertise the same network segment route, so that users may not be able to receive service data.

It should be noted that although the PGW-U1 will initiate batch deletion of sessions after sensing the reset and restart of the PGW-C, in the process of batch deletion of sessions, when a session is the last session using an address in a network segment, the PGW -U1 also frees the segment. However, it takes a period of time for the PGW-U1 to complete the batch deletion of sessions. During this period, the user's service is likely to be affected.

In order to solve these drawbacks, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which may specifically be a control plane gateway or a data plane gateway hereinafter. Refer to FIG. 2 for a schematic diagram of the hardware structure of the communication apparatus. FIG. 2 shows a schematic diagram of the hardware structure of a communication apparatus 20 , including at least one processor 201 , a communication bus 202 and at least one communication interface 204 . Optionally, the communication device 20 further includes a memory 203 .

The processor 201 may be a general-purpose central processing unit (CPU for short), a microprocessor, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC for short), or one or more programs for controlling the solution of the present application implemented integrated circuits.

Communication bus 202, which may include a path, communicates information between the aforementioned components.

The communication interface 204, which can be any transceiver-like device, is used to communicate with other devices or a communication network.

The memory 203 may be a read-only memory (ROM for short) or other types of static storage devices that can store static information and instructions, a random access memory (RAM for short) or a memory device that can store information and instructions. Other types of dynamic storage devices may also be electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM for short), compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM for short) or other optical disks storage, optical disc storage (including compact disc, laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc, blu-ray disc, etc.), magnetic disk storage medium or other magnetic storage device, or capable of carrying or storing desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and any other medium that can be accessed by a computer, but is not limited thereto. The memory can exist independently and be connected to the processor through a bus. The memory can also be integrated with the processor.

Wherein, the memory 203 is used for storing the application program code for executing the solution of the present application, and the execution is controlled by the processor 201 . The processor 201 is configured to execute the application program code stored in the memory 203, so as to implement the methods provided in the following embodiments of the present application.

In a specific implementation, as an embodiment, the processor 201 may include one or more CPUs, such as CPU0 and CPU1 in FIG. 2 .

In a specific implementation, as an embodiment, the communication apparatus 20 may include multiple processors, such as the processor 201 and the processor 208 in FIG. 2 . Each of these processors can be a single-core (single-CPU) processor or a multi-core (multi-CPU) processor. A processor herein may refer to one or more devices, circuits, and/or processing cores for processing data (eg, computer program instructions).

In a specific implementation, as an embodiment, the communication apparatus 20 may further include an output device 205 and an input device 206 .

The system architecture and service scenarios described in the embodiments of the present application are for the purpose of illustrating the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application more clearly, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application. Those of ordinary skill in the art know that with the evolution of the network architecture and the emergence of new service scenarios, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application are also applicable to similar technical problems. For the convenience of description, the method provided by the embodiment of the present application is exemplarily described below by taking the method provided by the embodiment of the present application applied to an EPS network as an example. The control plane gateway in the embodiment of the present application is denoted as PGW-C in the following (that is, the PGW-C in the following can be replaced by the control plane gateway), and the data plane gateway is denoted as PGW-U (that is, the PGW-U in the following Can be replaced with a data plane gateway).

However, it should be noted that the methods provided in the embodiments of the present application may also be applied to other networks, for example, may be applied to an NR system or a 5G network. Correspondingly, when the methods provided by the embodiments of the present application are applied in the NR system or the 5G network, the network nodes that execute the methods provided by the embodiments of the present application may be replaced with network nodes in the NR system or the 5G network. For example, when the method provided in the embodiment of the present application is applied to an EPS network, the control plane gateway in the embodiment of the present application may be PGW-C, and the data plane gateway may be PGW-U. When the method provided in the embodiment of the present application is applied to an NR system or a 5G network, the control plane gateway in the embodiment of the present application may be a session management function (session management function, SMF for short) network element, and the data plane gateway may be a user plane function (user plane function, UPF for short) network element. Correspondingly, the Sxb interface link in the following can be replaced by the interface link between the SMF and the UPF.

It should be pointed out that the terms or terms involved in the various embodiments of the present application may refer to each other without limitation. In this embodiment of the present application, "release network segment A" may also be described as "delete the route of network segment A", and network segment A may be any network segment released hereinafter.

Example 1

This embodiment provides a method for releasing a network segment, as shown in Figure 3, including:

301. The PGW-C determines that no session uses the address in the first network segment.

The first network segment may be any network segment allocated by the PGW-C to the PGW-U.

When step 301 is specifically implemented, it can be implemented in the following manners 1 or 2:

Manner 1: After the PGW-C sends a message indicating deletion of the last local session using the address in the first network segment to the PGW-U, the PGW-C may determine that no session uses the address in the first network segment.

Mode 2: When the PGW-C receives the deactivation request for the first session, the PGW-C determines whether the first session is the last session using the address in the first network segment, and if so, the PGW-C determines that there is no session using the first session. An address in a network segment. The first session may be any session.

302. The PGW-C sends a first message to the PGW-U, where the first message is used to instruct the PGW-U to release the first network segment, where the PGW-U is the PGW-U occupying the first network segment.

The first message may include information used to indicate the first network segment. For example, the information of the first network segment may be the IP address and mask of the first network segment, and the information of the first network segment may also be the first network segment. The starting IP address and ending IP address of the network segment, etc. The information of the network segment in the second and third embodiments described below may also be the IP address and mask of the network segment, or may be the starting IP address and the ending IP address of the network segment, which will not be described in detail below.

Further, the first message may also include information for instructing the PGW-U to release the network segment, and of course, the information may also be indicated by the message type of the first message.

The first message may be a node-level message (eg, a PFCP session update request (PFCP associationupdate request)), or a session-level message (eg, a PFCP session deletion request (PFCP sessiondeletion request)). Regardless of whether the first message is a node-level message or a session-level message, the PGW-U may be instructed to release the first network segment by adding a private information element containing the information of the first network segment to the first message. The first message may not be an existing message but a newly defined message, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application.

In one case (referred to as case 1), the PGW-U successfully receives the first message. In this case, steps 303a-305a can be performed after step 302.

303a. The PGW-U receives the first message from the PGW-C, and releases the first network segment according to the first message.

Optionally, the first message further includes a first timestamp, where the first timestamp is used to indicate the time when the PGW-C sends the first message. In this case, the release of the first network segment by the PGW-U according to the first message may include: the PGW-U determines whether there is a local session using the address in the first network segment according to the first message; if so, the PGW-U compares and creates a local session The timestamp and the first timestamp; if the timestamp for creating the local session is earlier than the first timestamp, the PGW-U releases the first network segment. Further, after step 303a, the method may further include: the PGW-U deletes the local session using the address in the first network segment.

If the timestamp for creating the local session is later than the first timestamp, the PGW-U retains the local session and does not release the first network segment. It should be noted that if the time stamp of creating the local session is later than the first time stamp, it means that the newly activated session uses the address in the first network segment, and the local session is retained. This optional method can prevent accidental deletion of sessions and accidental release of network segments.

Wherein, a private information element may be used in the first message to carry the information used to indicate the first network segment and/or the first timestamp.

304a. The PGW-U sends a second message to the PGW-C, where the second message is used to instruct the PGW-U to release the first network segment.

Wherein, the second message may include information used to indicate the first network segment, for example, the IP address of the first network segment, the mask of the first network segment, the starting IP address and the ending IP address of the first network segment, etc. . Further, the second message may also include information for indicating that the PGW-U releases the network segment, and of course, the information may also be indicated by the message type of the second message.

305a. The PGW-C receives the second message from the PGW-U, and releases the first network segment according to the second message.

The PGW-C releases the first network segment after the PGW-U releases the first network segment, so that the first network segment is not allocated to two PGW-Us and prevents the two PGW-Us from releasing the same network segment routing.

After step 305a, the PGW-C may allocate the first network segment to any PGW-U for use.

During the execution of steps 301-302, 303a-305a, if a session is deactivated, multiple messages for releasing the network segment in the PGW-U may be triggered, and the PGW-C can simultaneously process multiple messages for releasing the network segment in the PGW-U. messages and response messages to those messages.

In another case (referred to as case 2), the PGW-U may not successfully receive the first message due to the flash or interruption of the Sxb interface link. In this case, for the PGW-C, steps can be performed after step 302 303b and 304b, for PGW-U, step 303c may be performed after step 302.

303b, the PGW-C does not receive the response message of the first message, and the PGW-C sends the first message to the PGW-U at regular intervals.

It should be noted that, when the Sxb interface link is flashed, the first message sent by the PGW-C subsequently may be received by the PGW-U. In this case, the methods shown in the above steps 303a-305a may be performed.

The time interval between the PGW-C sending two adjacent first messages may be the same or different, and may be specifically designed according to actual application scenarios.

304b. If no response message to the first message is received within the first preset time period, the PGW-C releases the network segment allocated to the PGW-U.

The PGW-C may set a first timer, the duration set by the first timer is the first preset time period, and the PGW-C may start the first timer (that is, the first preset time period) when sending the first first message. Let the start time of the time period be the time of sending the first first message), and release the network segment allocated to the PGW-U when the first timer times out; the first timer can also be started when it is determined that the Sxb interface link is interrupted (That is, the start time of the first preset time period may be the time when the PGW-C determines the Sxb interface link interruption), and the network segment allocated to the PGW-U is released when the first timer expires. Exemplarily, the first preset time period may be 30 minutes.

After step 304b, the PGW-C may allocate the network segment originally occupied by the PGW-U to any PGW-U for use.

The network segment occupied by the PGW-U includes the first network segment.

During the execution of steps 301-302, 303b-304b, if a session is deactivated, multiple messages for releasing the network segment of the PGW-U may be triggered, and the PGW-C can process multiple messages for releasing the network segment in the PGW-U at the same time. and response messages to these messages.

303c, the PGW-U determines that the Sxb interface link with the PGW-C is interrupted, and the PGW-U releases the network segment allocated by the PGW-C in the PGW-U after the second preset time period.

Wherein, the PGW-U may set a second timer, the time length set by the second timer is the second preset time period, and the PGW-U may start the second timer (that is, the second preset time period) when it determines that the Sxb interface link is interrupted The starting time of the time period is set as the time when the PGW-U determines that the Sxb interface link is interrupted), and the network segment allocated by the PGW-C in the PGW-U is released when the second timer expires. Exemplarily, the second preset time period may be 15 minutes.

The network segment allocated by the PGW-C in the PGW-U includes the first network segment.

It should be noted that the first preset time period should be greater than the second preset time period to ensure that when the network segment allocated to the PGW-U is released on the PGW-C, the network segment allocated by the PGW-C in the PGW-U has been freed.

Optionally, after step 303c, the method further includes: the PGW-U deletes the local session using the address in the network segment allocated by the PGW-C. Due to the large number of sessions, the deletion time may be longer. Therefore, the PGW-U can release the network segment first and then delete the local session, so as to avoid two PGW-Us from advertising the same network segment route.

The PGW-U in this embodiment may be any one of the PGW-Us corresponding to the PGW-C.

In the method provided in this embodiment, the PGW-C releases the network segment allocated to the PGW-U in the PGW-C after the PGW-U releases the network segment allocated by the PGW-C in the PGW-U, so that the same network segment is released. The network segment will not be allocated to two PGW-Us, that is, the two PGW-Us will not advertise the same network segment route. This embodiment can solve the problems in the above scenarios 1 and 2.

Embodiment 2

In order to release the invalid network segment in the PGW-U, the embodiment of the present application also provides a method for releasing the network segment, as shown in FIG. 4 , including:

401. The PGW-U determines the invalid network segment of the PGW-U by performing network segment verification with the PGW-C; wherein, the invalid network segment of the PGW-U refers to, among all the network segments allocated by the PGW-C in the PGW-U. A network segment other than all network segments recorded on PGW-C and allocated to PGW-U.

It should be noted that one PGW-C may correspond to multiple PGW-Us, and network segment verification between the PGW-C and the multiple PGW-Us may be performed concurrently. That is, the PGW-C can support simultaneous communication with multiple PGW-Us.

402. The PGW-U releases the invalid network segment of the PGW-U.

After step 402, the method may further include: the PGW-U deletes the local session using the address in the invalid network segment of the PGW-U. Due to the large number of sessions, the deletion time may be longer. Therefore, the PGW-U can release the invalid network segment first and then delete the local session, so as to avoid the two PGW-Us from publishing the same network segment route and restore the use of the invalid network segment as soon as possible. .

The PGW-U and PGW-C can perform network segment verification at regular intervals (for example, periodically), and can also perform network segment verification in some scenarios. These scenarios can be: PGW-C due to internal abnormality ( For example, the process of the PGW-C is reset), resulting in the loss of the network segment information waiting to be released; or, the PGW-C senses that the Sxb interface link is restored from the interruption to the connected state, and so on.

In the method provided by this embodiment, by releasing the invalid network segment of the PGW-U, it can be avoided that the PGW-U and the PGW-U occupying the invalid network segment of the PGW-U issue the same network segment route.

In an implementation manner, step 401 may include the following steps when specifically implemented:

11) The PGW-C sends at least one verification request to the PGW-U, where the at least one verification request includes the information recorded on the PGW-C of all network segments allocated to the PGW-U.

Wherein, if a verification request can only include the information recorded on the PGW-C for a part of the network segment allocated to the PGW-U, the PGW-C can send multiple verification requests to the PGW-U, and the multiple verification requests include information for Indicates the information recorded on the PGW-C and allocated to all network segments of the PGW-U. Optionally, if at least one verification request is multiple verification requests, the first verification request among the multiple verification requests includes a start (Start) flag bit, and the start flag bit is used to indicate that the verification request to which it belongs is the first verification request. The last verification request in each verification request includes an end (End) flag bit, and the end flag bit is used to indicate that the verification request to which it belongs is the last verification request.

The verification request may also carry the IP address of the PGW-C, which is used to indicate the PGW-C sending the verification request. A verification request can carry information of multiple network segments, and the PGW-C can carry the information on the principle of not fragmenting the message (the purpose is to reduce the consumption of the IP layer and/or the transmission control protocol (TCP) layer for short) Information on as many network segments as possible.

12) PGW-U receives at least one verification request from PGW-C.

13) The PGW-U marks, according to at least one verification request, the network segments in all the network segments allocated by the PGW-C and belonging to all the network segments recorded on the PGW-C and allocated to the PGW-U. .

Exemplarily (referred to as example 1), if at least one verification request includes information on network segment 1, network segment 2, and network segment 3, all network segments allocated by PGW-C in PGW-U include network segment 1, network segment 2, and network segment 3. segment 2, segment 3, and segment 4, the PGW-U can mark segment 1, segment 2, and segment 3.

Exemplarily (referred to as example 2), the marking can be the timestamp of the network segment, for example, step 13) In specific implementation, it can include: PGW-U adds all network segments allocated by PGW-C to PGW-U. The timestamps of the network segments recorded on the PGW-C and assigned to all network segments of the PGW-U are refreshed to the second timestamp, and the second timestamp is used to indicate the time when the PGW-C sends the first verification request Or the time when the PGW-U refreshes the timestamp according to the first verification request.

Wherein, when the second timestamp is used to indicate the time when the PGW-C sends the first verification request, the second timestamp may be included in the verification request. When the second time stamp is used to indicate the time when the PGW-U refreshes the time stamp according to the first verification request, the second time stamp may be generated by the PGW-U itself.

14) PGW-U determines unmarked network segments among all network segments allocated by PGW-C in PGW-U as invalid network segments of PGW-U.

Based on Example 1, the PGW-U may determine the network segment 4 as an invalid network segment of the PGW-U.

Based on example 2, when the mark is a timestamp, step 14) may include: PGW-U traverses the timestamps of all network segments allocated by PGW-C in PGW-U, and determines that the timestamp is earlier than the second time The stamped network segment is the invalid network segment of the PGW-U.

It should be noted that, since the timestamp recorded on the PGW-C for the network segment that is not allocated to the PGW-U will not be refreshed during the network segment verification process, the PGW-U can be determined according to the timestamp of the network segment of the PGW-U. Invalid network segment of U.

Wherein, the PGW-U may perform step 14) when receiving the last verification request. The PGW-U may determine whether a check request is the last check request according to whether the check request contains an end marker bit.

During the network segment verification, if the PGW-U creates a new network segment due to receiving a session activation request from the user, the network segment is also marked (for example, the time stamp of the network segment is a second time stamp).

In another implementation manner, step 401 may include the following steps when specifically implemented:

21) PGW-U sends at least one verification request to PGW-C, where at least one verification request includes information of all network segments allocated by PGW-C in PGW-U.

Wherein, if a verification request can only include the information of part of the network segment allocated by the PGW-C in the PGW-U, the PGW-U can send multiple verification requests to the PGW-C, and the multiple verification requests include the information used to indicate the PGW-C. -Information of all network segments allocated by PGW-C in U. Optionally, if at least one verification request is multiple verification requests, the first verification request among the multiple verification requests includes a start (Start) flag bit, and the start flag bit is used to indicate that the verification request to which it belongs is the first verification request. The last verification request in each verification request includes an end (End) flag bit, and the end flag bit is used to indicate that the verification request to which it belongs is the last verification request.

The verification request may also carry the IP address of the PGW-U, which is used to indicate the PGW-U sending the verification request.

22) PGW-C receives at least one verification request from PGW-U, and judges whether each network segment in all network segments allocated by PGW-C in PGW-U is recorded on PGW-C according to the at least one verification request. to PGW-U.

23) PGW-C sends at least one verification response to PGW-U, and at least one verification response includes whether each network segment in all network segments allocated by PGW-C in PGW-U is recorded on PGW-C as being allocated to PGW -U info.

Exemplarily (referred to as example 3), if at least one verification request includes information on network segment 1, network segment 2, and network segment 3, when the network segment 1 and network segment 2 recorded by the PGW-C are allocated to the PGW-C When the network segment is U, at least one verification response indicates that network segment 1 and network segment 2 are yes, and network segment 3 is no. Yes indicates that the corresponding network segment is the network segment recorded by PGW-C and allocated to PGW-U. no indicates that the corresponding network segment is the network segment recorded by the PGW-C that is not allocated to the PGW-U.

24) The PGW-U receives at least one verification response from the PGW-C, and according to the at least one verification response, records in the PGW-U all network segments allocated by the PGW-C that are not allocated to the PGW-C. The network segment of U is determined to be an invalid network segment of PGW-U.

Based on Example 3, the PGW-U may determine the network segment 3 as an invalid network segment of the PGW-U.

It should be noted that PGW-U can determine part of the invalid network segment of PGW-U once every time it receives a verification response, and release part of the invalid network segment of PGW-U. PGW-U can also receive all the invalid network segments of PGW-U. When the verification response is received, determine all invalid network segments of PGW-U, and release all invalid network segments of PGW-U.

Optionally, if at least one check response is multiple check responses, the last check response among the multiple check responses includes an end (End) flag bit, and the end flag bit is used to indicate that the belonging check response is the last check response. The PGW-U may determine whether a check response is the last check response according to whether the check response contains an end marker bit. In addition, the last verification response among the multiple verification responses may not include the end (End) flag bit. In this case, the PGW-U may, according to all the networks allocated by the PGW-C in the PGW-U included in the verification response Whether each network segment in the segment records the information allocated to PGW-U on PGW-C, and determines whether PGW-C checks each network segment in all network segments allocated by PGW-C in PGW-U After completion, it is further determined whether a verification response is the last verification response.

Two implementations of step 401 are exemplified above. It can be understood that the essence of this solution is network segment verification through information exchange between PGW-C and PGW-U. The information exchange between the C and the PGW-U to determine the invalid network segment of the PGW-U should all fall within the protection scope of the embodiments of the present application.

Embodiment 3

Since the allocation of the network segment and the allocation of addresses in the network segment will be lost when the PGW-C is reset and restarted, in this case, in order to ensure the consistency of the information in the PGW-C and the PGW-U, this application implements The example also provides a method for releasing a network segment, as shown in Figure 5, the method includes:

501. The PGW-C resets and restarts.

502. The PGW-C rejects the activation of the new session.

Since the PGW-C does not know which network segments are occupied by which PGW-Us after reset and restart, the PGW-C can refuse the activation of the new session, and if it receives a session activation request, the PGW-C can return a response of activation failure message, thereby preventing the same network segment from being assigned to different PGW-Us.

503. The PGW-C receives the third message and/or at least one fourth message sent by all PGW-Us connected to the PGW-C; the third message sent by one PGW-U is used to indicate that the PGW-U has released the The network segment allocated for the PGW-U before the PGW-C resets and restarts, and at least one fourth message sent by a PGW-U includes the PGW-C in the PGW-U allocated for the PGW-U before the reset and restart information about the network segment.

In the fourth message, information of part or all of the network segments of a PGW-U may be indicated through the private network element. When one fourth message cannot carry information of all network segments of the PGW-U, the PGW-U may send multiple fourth messages to the PGW-C, and the multiple fourth messages include all network segments of the PGW-U segment information. Wherein, the last fourth message in the at least one fourth message may include an end flag bit, and the end flag bit is used to indicate that the belonging fourth message is the last fourth message, that is, the PGW-U has finished reporting Information about all network segments of the PGW-U. The PGW-C may determine whether the reporting by the PGW-U is completed according to whether the fourth message contains an end flag.

The first fourth message may be a system start-up request message (ie, a PFCP association setup request (PFCPAssociation Setup Request) message), and the other fourth messages may be PFCP association update request (PFCPAssociation Update Request) messages. Of course, the fourth message may also be a newly defined message.

504. The PGW-C allows activation of a new session.

Optionally, in step 503, if the PGW-C only receives at least one fourth message sent by all PGW-Us connected to the PGW-C, the method further includes:

11) The PGW-C allocates, for the newly activated session, an address in a network segment other than the network segment allocated before the reset and restart of the PGW-C in all the PGW-Us.

After the PGW-C receives at least one fourth message sent by all the PGW-Us connected to the PGW-C, the PGW-C knows which network segments are occupied by which PGW-Us, therefore, the PGW-C New sessions can be allowed to be activated, but the addresses allocated for newly activated sessions should not be addresses in the network segment allocated before the reset and restart of the PGW-C in all PGW-Us, thereby preventing the same network segment from being allocated to different PGW-U.

Taking the first PGW-U connected to the PGW-C as an example, after the first PGW-U determines that the PGW-C is reset and restarted, the following steps can be performed: 11) The first PGW-U releases the PGW-C before reset and restart: The network segment allocated by the first PGW-U.

The PGW-U can sense the reset and restart of the PGW-C through the heartbeat message of the PFCP interface. The first PGW-U is any one of the PGW-Us connected to the PGW-C.

If the network segment needs to be released after the session is released, because the number of sessions is too large, there will be a large delay in releasing the network segment, which will cause the PGW-C to fail to activate a new session and affect services. In order to avoid this problem, in this embodiment of the present application, the PGW-U first releases the network segment, and then deletes the session. The release of the network segment does not depend on the deletion of the session. Fast recycling.

Step 11), in specific implementation, may include: the first PGW-U releases the network segment whose timestamp is before the reset and restart of the PGW-C. It should be noted that each network segment in the PGW-U corresponds to a time stamp, and the time stamp corresponding to one network segment is used to indicate the time when the PGW-C allocates the network segment to the PGW-U.

After step 11), optionally, the method further includes: the first PGW-U sends a third message to the PGW-C, where the third message is used to indicate that the release of the first PGW-U is completed The network segment allocated to the first PGW-U before the PGW-C resets and restarts.

Optionally, after step 11), the method further includes: the first PGW-U deletes the local session using the address in the network segment allocated for the first PGW-U before the reset and restart of the PGW-C or, the first PGW-U deletes the session established before the reset and restart of the PGW-C.

Optionally, the method further includes: the first PGW-U sends at least one fourth message to the PGW-C, where the at least one fourth message includes information of the network segment of the first PGW-U.

Optionally, in step 503, if the PGW-C only receives at least one fourth message sent by all PGW-Us connected to the PGW-C, the method further includes:

21) The PGW-C locks the network segment allocated before the reset and restart of the PGW-C in all the PGW-Us;

22) the PGW-C receives the third message from the first PGW-U;

23) The PGW-C unlocks the acquired network segment allocated to the first PGW-U before the PGW-C resets and restarts.

The locking of the network segment means that the network segment is in a state that cannot be allocated. That is, when a network segment is locked, the network segment cannot be allocated. Unlocking a network segment means making the network segment in a state that can be allocated. That is to say, after a network segment is unlocked, the network segment can be assigned to any PGW-U.

It should be noted that since the time stamp of the first PGW-U has been released before the PGW-C resets and restarts the network segments, these network segments can be allocated to other PGW-Us. Therefore, the PGW-C assigns these network segments to The network segment is unlocked, and the unlocked network segment can be assigned to any PGW-U.

By locking the network segment of PGW-U, PGW-C can prevent PGW-C from assigning these network segments to other PGW-Us before PGW-U releases the network segment, so as to prevent two PGW-Us from publishing the same network segment route .

The foregoing mainly introduces the solutions of the embodiments of the present application from the perspective of interaction between various network elements. It can be understood that each network element, such as a control plane gateway or a data plane gateway, includes hardware structures and/or software modules corresponding to performing the functions in order to implement the above functions. Those skilled in the art should easily realize that the present application can be implemented in hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software with the units and algorithm steps of each example described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein. Whether a function is performed by hardware or computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality using different methods for each particular application, but such implementations should not be considered beyond the scope of this application.

In this embodiment of the present application, the control plane gateway or the data plane gateway may be divided into functional units according to the foregoing method examples. For example, each functional unit may be divided corresponding to each function, or two or more functions may be integrated into one processing unit. middle. The above-mentioned integrated units may be implemented in the form of hardware, or may be implemented in the form of software functional units. It should be noted that the division of units in the embodiments of the present application is illustrative, and is only a logical function division, and other division methods may be used in actual implementation.

In the case of using an integrated unit, FIG. 6 shows a possible schematic structural diagram of the communication device involved in the above embodiment, the communication device includes a processing unit 601 and a communication unit 602 , and may also include a storage unit 603 . The schematic structural diagram shown in FIG. 6 may be used to illustrate the structure of the control plane gateway or the data plane gateway involved in the foregoing embodiments.

When the schematic structural diagram shown in FIG. 6 is used to illustrate the structure of the control plane gateway (for example, the PGW-C in FIG. 3 to FIG. 5 ) involved in the above embodiments, the processing unit 601 is used to perform actions on the control plane gateway For control management, for example, the processing unit 601 is used to support the control plane gateway to perform steps 301, 302, 304a, 305a, 303b and 304b in FIG. 3, step 401 in FIG. 4, and steps in FIG. 5 Steps 501 to 504, and/or actions performed by the control plane gateway in other processes described in the embodiments of this application. The communication unit 602 is used to support the communication between the control plane gateway and other network entities, for example, the communication with the data plane gateway shown in FIG. 3 . The storage unit 603 is used for storing program codes and data of the control plane gateway.

When the schematic structural diagram shown in FIG. 6 is used to illustrate the structure of the data plane gateway (for example, the PGW-U in FIG. 3 to FIG. 5 ) involved in the above-mentioned embodiments, the processing unit 601 is used for the action of the data plane gateway For control management, for example, the processing unit 601 is used to support the data plane gateway to perform steps 302, 303a, 304a, 303b, 303c in FIG. 3, steps 401 and 402 in FIG. 4, and steps in FIG. 5 503, and/or actions performed by the data plane gateway in other processes described in the embodiments of this application. The communication unit 602 is used to support the communication between the data plane gateway and other network entities, for example, the communication with the control plane gateway shown in FIG. 3 . The storage unit 603 is used to store program codes and data of the data plane gateway.

The processing unit 601 may be a processor or a controller, and the communication unit 602 may be a communication interface, a transceiver, a transceiver circuit, etc., wherein the communication interface is a general term and may include one or more interfaces. The storage unit 603 may be a memory.

When the processing unit 601 is a processor, the communication unit 602 is a communication interface, and the storage unit 603 is a memory, the communication device involved in the embodiment of the present application may be the communication device shown in FIG. 2 .

When the schematic structural diagram shown in FIG. 2 is used to illustrate the structure of the control plane gateway involved in the above embodiment, the processor 201 is used to control and manage the actions of the control plane gateway, for example, the processor 201 is used to support the control plane The gateway executes steps 301, 302, 304a, 305a, 303b, and 304b in FIG. 3, step 401 in FIG. 4, steps 501 to 504 in FIG. Actions performed by the control plane gateway in other processes described. The communication interface 204 is used to support communication between the control plane gateway and other network entities, eg, with the data plane gateway shown in FIG. 3 . The memory 203 is used to store program codes and data of the control plane gateway.

When the schematic structural diagram shown in FIG. 2 is used to illustrate the structure of the data plane gateway involved in the above embodiments, the processor 201 is used to control and manage the actions of the data plane gateway, for example, the processor 201 is used to support the data plane The gateway executes step 302, step 303a, step 304a, step 303b, step 303c in FIG. 3, step 401 and step 402 in FIG. 4, step 503 in FIG. 5, and/or other steps described in the embodiments of the present application The action performed by the data plane gateway in the process. The communication interface 204 is used to support communication between the data plane gateway and other network entities, eg, with the control plane gateway shown in FIG. 3 . The memory 203 is used to store program codes and data of the data plane gateway.

Embodiments of the present application further provide a computer-readable storage medium, including instructions, which, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to execute any of the foregoing methods.

Embodiments of the present application also provide a computer program product containing instructions, which, when run on a computer, enables the computer to execute any of the above methods.

An embodiment of the present application further provides a communication system, including the data plane gateway and the control plane gateway in the foregoing embodiments.

In the above-mentioned embodiments, it may be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented using a software program, it can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on the computer, all or part of the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are generated. The computer may be a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. Computer instructions may be stored in or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium, for example, the computer instructions may be transmitted from a website site, computer, server, or data center over a wire (e.g. Coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL for short)) or wireless (such as infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) means to transmit to another website site, computer, server or data center. Computer-readable storage media can be any available media that can be accessed by a computer or data storage devices including one or more servers, data centers, etc., that can be integrated with the media. Useful media may be magnetic media (eg, floppy disks, hard disks, magnetic tapes), optical media (eg, DVD), or semiconductor media (eg, solid state disk (SSD) for short), and the like.

Although the application is described herein in conjunction with various embodiments, in practicing the claimed application, those skilled in the art can understand and implement the disclosure by reviewing the drawings, the disclosure, and the appended claims Other variations of the embodiment. In the claims, the word "comprising" does not exclude other components or steps, and "a" or "an" does not exclude a plurality. A single processor or other unit may fulfill the functions of several items recited in the claims. The mere fact that certain measures are recited in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that these measures cannot be combined to advantage.

Although the application has been described in conjunction with specific features and embodiments thereof, it will be apparent that various modifications and combinations can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the application. Accordingly, this specification and drawings are merely exemplary illustrations of the application as defined by the appended claims, and are deemed to cover any and all modifications, variations, combinations or equivalents within the scope of this application. Obviously, those skilled in the art can make various changes and modifications to the present application without departing from the spirit and scope of the present application. Thus, if these modifications and variations of the present application fall within the scope of the claims of the present application and their equivalents, the present application is also intended to include these modifications and variations.

Claims (12)

1. A method for releasing a network segment, comprising:

the control plane gateway determines that no session uses the address in the first network segment; the first network segment comprises a plurality of addresses allocated to the session of the terminal equipment;

the control plane gateway sends a first message to a data plane gateway, wherein the first message is used for indicating the data plane gateway to release the first network segment, and the data plane gateway occupies the first network segment;

and the control plane gateway receives a second message from the data plane gateway, wherein the second message is used for indicating that the data plane gateway releases the first network segment, and the control plane gateway releases the first network segment according to the second message.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the control plane gateway determining that no session uses an address in the first network segment comprises:

when the control plane gateway receives a deactivation request of a first session, the control plane gateway determines whether the first session is the last session using the address in the first network segment, and if so, the control plane gateway determines that no session uses the address in the first network segment.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a first timestamp is included in the first message, and the first timestamp is used for indicating the time when the control plane gateway sends the first message.

4. A method for releasing a network segment, comprising:

the method comprises the steps that a data plane gateway receives a first message from a control plane gateway, wherein the first message is used for indicating the data plane gateway to release a first network segment; the first network segment comprises a plurality of addresses allocated to the session of the terminal equipment;

the data plane gateway releases the first network segment according to the first message;

and the data plane gateway sends a second message to the control plane gateway, wherein the second message is used for indicating that the data plane gateway releases the first network segment.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein after the data plane gateway releases the first network segment in accordance with the first message, the method further comprises:

and the data plane gateway deletes the local session using the address in the first network segment.

6. The method according to claim 4 or 5, wherein a first timestamp is included in the first message, the first timestamp is used for indicating a time when the control plane gateway sends the first message, and the data plane gateway releases the first network segment according to the first message, including:

the data plane gateway judges whether a local session using the address in the first network segment exists or not according to the first message;

if so, the data plane gateway compares the time stamp for creating the local session with the first time stamp;

and if the time stamp for creating the local session is earlier than the first time stamp, the data plane gateway releases the first network segment.

7. A method for releasing a network segment, comprising:

the control plane gateway determines that no session uses the address in the first network segment;

the control plane gateway sends a first message to a data plane gateway, wherein the first message is used for indicating the data plane gateway to release the first network segment, and the data plane gateway occupies the first network segment;

the control plane gateway does not receive a response message of the first message, the control plane gateway sends the first message to the data plane gateway at intervals, and if the response message of the first message is not received in a first preset time period, the control plane gateway releases a network segment distributed to the data plane gateway; the starting time of the first preset time period is the time when the control plane gateway sends the first message, or the starting time of the first preset time period is the time when the control plane gateway determines that an interface link between the control plane gateway and the data plane gateway is interrupted;

the data plane gateway determines that an interface link between the data plane gateway and the control plane gateway is interrupted;

and the data plane gateway releases the network segment distributed by the control plane gateway in the data plane gateway after a second preset time period, wherein the second preset time period is less than the first preset time period.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

and the data plane gateway deletes the local session using the address in the network segment distributed by the control plane gateway.

9. A communications apparatus, comprising: a memory and a processor;

the memory is configured to store computer-executable instructions, and the processor executes the computer-executable instructions stored by the memory to cause the communication device to: the method of any one of claims 1-3; or the method performed by the control plane gateway of claim 7 or 8.

10. A communications apparatus, comprising: a memory and a processor;

the memory is configured to store computer-executable instructions, and the processor executes the computer-executable instructions stored by the memory to cause the communication device to: the method of any one of claims 4-6; or the method performed by the data plane gateway of claim 7 or 8.

11. A computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform: the method of any one of claims 1-3; or the method performed by the control plane gateway of claim 7 or 8.

12. A computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform: the method of any one of claims 4-6; or the method performed by the data plane gateway of claim 7 or 8.

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