CN111901895A - Method and device for establishing user plane - Google Patents

Abstract

The present application provides a method and apparatus for establishing a user plane. Based on this method, the session control network element can receive the first request and the information of the secondary base station, so that in the process of establishing the first connection according to the first request, the session control network element can select a suitable user plane network according to the information of the secondary base station and establishes the user plane path of the connection according to the user plane network element. According to this, during the first connection establishment process, the session control network element can select the user plane network element according to the information of the secondary base station to establish the user plane connection. Compared with In the solution in the prior art that the session control network element selects the user plane network element according to the information of the primary base station, the path between the selected user plane network element and the secondary base station is better, so as to optimize the path of the connection on the user plane and improve the connection quality. This solution can be applied to redundant connection scenarios.

Description

A method and apparatus for establishing a user plane

technical field

The present application relates to the field of mobile communication technologies, and in particular, to a method and apparatus for establishing a user plane.

Background technique

At present, when establishing a protocol data unit (PDU) session, the network needs to select a user plane function (UPF), the UPF is used to serve the newly established PDU session, and the PDU session is available The terminal equipment is connected to the data network.

For a scenario where the primary base station and the secondary base station provide services for the same terminal device, the network side may also select the UPF for the secondary base station. However, when the terminal equipment accesses the data network through the secondary base station, it may not be able to provide high-quality business services for the terminal equipment.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present application provides a method and apparatus for establishing a user plane, which can be used to optimize the access configuration scheme of access network equipment for UE in a 5G vertical industry scenario.

In a first aspect, the present application provides a method for establishing a user plane, and the method can be implemented by a session control network element. Based on this method, the session control network element can receive the first request, where the first request is used to request the establishment of the first connection, the session control network element can also receive information of the secondary base station, and the session control network element can receive the information of the secondary base station according to the secondary The information of the base station selects the first user plane network element, the first user plane network element serves the first connection, and sends the tunnel information and the second information of the first user plane network element to the master base station, wherein, The second information is used to indicate that the user plane of the first connection passes through the secondary base station, and the session control network element may also send the tunnel information of the secondary base station to the first user plane network element.

With the above method, the session control network element can receive the first request and the information of the secondary base station, so that in the process of establishing the first connection according to the first request, the session control network element can select a suitable user plane network according to the information of the secondary base station and establishes the user plane path of the connection according to the user plane network element. According to this, during the first connection establishment process, the session control network element can select the user plane network element according to the information of the secondary base station to establish the user plane connection. Compared with In the solution in the prior art that the session control network element selects the user plane network element according to the information of the primary base station, the path between the selected user plane network element and the secondary base station is better, so as to optimize the path of the connection on the user plane and improve the connection quality.

In a possible design, the information of the secondary base station may include an identity (ID or id) of a cell (cell) of the secondary base station, and/or the identity of the secondary base station, and/or the secondary base station tunnel information. According to the information of the secondary base station, the session control network element can select an appropriate user plane network element, for example, select a user plane network element with a short distance from the secondary base station to improve the transmission quality between the secondary base station and the user plane network element and/or transmission rate, where the information of the secondary base station may be used to indicate the position of the secondary base station, or may be used to query the position of the secondary base station, for example, the information of the secondary base station may include the identity of the secondary base station, the identity of the cell of the secondary base station or the secondary base station. some or all of the tunnel information. In an implementation, when the information of the secondary base station does not include the tunnel information of the secondary base station, the session control network element may further receive the tunnel information of the secondary base station. Here, the tunnel information of the secondary base station is used to establish the connection between the secondary base station and the user plane network element. Therefore, if the information of the secondary base station does not include the tunnel information of the secondary base station, the session control network element also needs to receive the information of the secondary base station. Tunnel information. The above information of the secondary base station is sent by the primary base station to the access and mobility management network element, and the access and mobility management network element sends the information of the secondary base station to the session control network element.

In a possible design, the session control network element may also receive a second request from the primary base station, where the second request is used to request the establishment of a second connection; if the second connection needs to perform redundant processing (or called redundant processing or redundant processing required), the session control network element sends first information to the master base station, where the first information is used to indicate the user who established the second connection through the master base station In other words, the first information is used to notify the master base station that the second session needs to perform redundancy processing, that is, to establish a mutually redundant connection with the second connection. The steps in the above design can be performed before the session control network element receives the first request, so with the above design, the master base station can determine that dual connections need to be established according to the received first information, and report to the access and mobility management network element Send the information of the secondary base station. The access and mobility management network element may send the information of the secondary base station to the session control network element.

In a possible design, if the first connection needs to perform redundant processing, the second information may be used to indicate the user plane for establishing the first connection through the secondary base station, or in other words, the second information The information is used to notify the master base station that the first session needs to be processed redundantly, that is, there is a connection that is redundant with the first connection. Using the above method, the session control network element can determine that a redundant connection needs to be established according to the first request, and accordingly sends the second information to the primary base station for the primary base station to select the secondary base station and send the information of the secondary base station to the session control network element.

In a possible design, if the first request includes the information of the primary base station, the session control network element may further determine a second user plane network element according to the information of the primary base station, and the second user The plane network element serves the first connection; then when the session control network element selects the first user plane network element according to the information of the secondary base station, it can reselect the first user plane network element according to the information of the secondary base station The user plane network element serves the first connection; or, the session control network element may insert the first user plane network element between the secondary base station and the second user plane network element, and the second user plane network element A user plane network element is an intermediate user plane network element. With the above design, if the session control network element has selected the user plane network element according to the information of the primary base station before the first connection is established, the session control network element can re-select according to the information of the secondary base station, and a new user plane network element has been determined. Element serves for the first connection. Alternatively, the session control network element may insert an intermediate user plane network element between the secondary base station and the selected user plane network element. The intermediate user plane network element is selected according to the information of the secondary base station, so that the secondary base station and the intermediate user can be established. The connection between the plane network elements and the intermediate user plane network elements and the user plane network elements selected according to the primary base station realize the establishment of the user plane path and optimize the connection between the secondary base station and the user plane network elements. Further, the information of the primary base station includes part or all of the following information: the identity of the primary base station; or, the identity of the cell of the primary base station; or, the tunnel information of the primary base station.

In one possible design, the session control network element may be an SMF network element.

In one possible design, the user plane network element may be a UPF network element.

In one possible design, the access and mobility management network element may be an AMF network element.

In one possible design, the first connection and the second connection may be PDU sessions.

In a second aspect, the present application provides a method for establishing a user plane, and the method can be implemented by a primary base station. The primary base station sends a first request, where the first request is used to request the establishment of a first connection; the primary base station sends information of the secondary base station; the primary base station receives the tunnel information and the second information of the first user plane network element, so The first user plane network element serves the first connection, and the second information is used to indicate that the user plane of the first connection passes through the secondary base station; the primary base station sends the first connection to the secondary base station. Tunnel information of a user plane network element.

In a possible design, the information of the secondary base station may include part or all of the following information: the identity of the secondary base station; or, the identity of the cell of the secondary base station; or, the tunnel information of the secondary base station . When the information of the secondary base station does not include the tunnel information of the secondary base station, the primary base station may send the tunnel information of the secondary base station to the access and mobility management network element.

In a possible design, the primary base station may select a secondary base station, and a dual connection is established through the secondary base station. The process of establishing dual connectivity may be performed immediately after the secondary base station is selected, or may not be performed temporarily after the secondary base station is selected.

In a possible design, the master base station may send a second request, and the second request is used to request to establish a second connection; the master base station may receive first information, and the first information is used to indicate the The primary base station establishes the user plane of the second connection.

In a possible design, the primary base station receives second information, where the second information is used to indicate the user plane for establishing the first connection through the secondary base station.

In a possible design, the first request may include information of the primary base station. Further, the information of the primary base station may include part or all of the following information: the identity of the primary base station; or, the identity of the cell of the primary base station; or, the tunnel information of the primary base station.

In one possible design, the session control network element may be an SMF network element.

In one possible design, the user plane network element may be a UPF network element.

In one possible design, the access and mobility management network element may be an AMF network element.

In one possible design, the first connection and the second connection may be PDU sessions.

In a third aspect, the present application provides a method for establishing a user plane, which method can be implemented by an access and mobility management network element. According to this method, the access and mobility management network element receives a first request from the primary base station, the first request being used to request the establishment of a first connection; the access and mobility management network element sends the information to the first session control network element the access and mobility management network element receives the information of the secondary base station from the primary base station; the access and mobility management network element receives the first user plane network element from the first session control network element tunnel information and second information, where the second information is used to instruct the user plane of the first connection to pass through the secondary base station, and the access and mobility management network element sends the first user to the primary base station The tunnel information of the plane network element and the second information.

In a possible design, the information of the secondary base station includes tunnel information of the secondary base station, an identity of the secondary base station, or some or all of the identity of the cell of the secondary base station. Further, when the information of the secondary base station does not include the tunnel information of the secondary base station, the access and mobility management network element may also receive the tunnel information of the secondary base station from the primary base station, and send the information to the first session control network. element to send the tunnel information of the secondary base station.

In a possible design, the access and mobility management network element may also receive a second request from the primary base station, where the second request is used to request a second connection, and send the first session control network element to the first session control network element. Send the second request, and receive first information from the first session control network element, where the first information is used to indicate the user plane for establishing the second connection through the primary base station, and send the information to the primary base station. the first information.

In a possible design, the access and mobility management network element may also receive a second request from the primary base station, where the second request is used to request to establish a second connection, and send the second request to the second session control network element For the second request, first information is received from the second session control network element, where the first information is used to indicate the user plane for establishing the first connection through the primary base station, and the primary base station sends the first information.

In a possible design, the access and mobility management network element may further receive second information from the first session control network element, where the second information is used to instruct to establish the first connection through the secondary base station and the access and mobility management network element sends the second information to the primary base station.

In a possible design, the first request may include information of the primary base station. Further, the information of the primary base station includes part or all of the following information: the identity of the primary base station; or, the identity of the cell of the primary base station; or, the tunnel information of the primary base station.

In a possible design, both the first session control network element and the second session control network element may be SMF network elements. The first session control network element and the second session control network element may be the same session control network element, or may be different session control network elements.

In one possible design, the user plane network element may be a UPF network element.

In one possible design, the access and mobility management network element may be an AMF network element.

In one possible design, the first connection and the second connection may be PDU sessions.

In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a method for establishing a user plane, and the method can be implemented by a session control network element, an access and mobility management network element, and a primary base station. According to the method, the primary base station sends the first request to the access and mobility management network element, where the first request is used to request to establish the first connection; the access and mobility management network element sends the first request to the session control network element; The primary base station sends the information of the secondary base station to the access and mobility management network element, and the access and mobility management network element sends the information of the secondary base station to the session control network element; the session control network element selects the first user according to the information of the secondary base station plane network element, the first user plane network element serves the first connection; the session control network element sends the tunnel information and second information of the first user plane network element to the access and mobility management network element, The second information is used to instruct the user plane of the first connection to pass through the secondary base station, and the access and mobility management network element sends the tunnel information and the second information of the first user plane network element to the primary base station; the primary base station The tunnel information of the first user plane network element is sent to the secondary base station; the session control network element can also send the tunnel information of the secondary base station to the first user plane network element.

In one possible design, the session control network element may be an SMF network element.

In one possible design, the user plane network element may be a UPF network element.

In one possible design, the access and mobility management network element may be an AMF network element.

In one possible design, the first connection may be a PDU session.

In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a communication device. The communication device can be used to perform the steps performed by the session control network element in the first aspect or any possible design of the first aspect, and the communication device can be implemented in the form of a hardware structure, a software module, or a hardware structure plus a software module. Implement each function in each of the above methods. For example, when composed of software modules, the communication device may include a communication module and a processing module that are coupled to each other, wherein the communication module may be used to support the communication device to communicate, and the processing module may be used by the communication device to perform processing operations, such as generating information to be sent. /message, or processing a received signal to get information/message. When composed of hardware components, the communication device may include a transceiver, a memory, and a processor, etc. coupled to each other.

When the method of the first aspect is performed, the communication module may be configured to receive a first request, where the first request is used to request to establish a first connection, and receive information of the secondary base station; the processing module may be configured to receive information from the secondary base station according to the The information of the first user plane network element is selected, and the first user plane network element serves the first connection; the communication module can also send the tunnel information and the second information of the first user plane network element to the main base station and send the tunnel information of the secondary base station to the first user plane network element, where the second information is used to instruct the user plane of the first connection to pass through the secondary base station.

In a possible design, the information of the secondary base station includes tunnel information of the secondary base station, an identity of the secondary base station, or some or all of the identity of the cell of the secondary base station.

In a possible design, when the information of the secondary base station does not include the tunnel information of the secondary base station, the communication module may also receive the tunnel information of the secondary base station.

In a possible design, the communication module may further receive a second request from the primary base station, where the second request is used to request to establish a second connection; if the second connection needs to perform redundant processing, the communication module may further First information may be sent to the primary base station, where the first information is used to indicate a user plane for establishing the second connection through the primary base station.

In a possible design, if the first connection needs to perform redundant processing, the communication module may also send second information to the primary base station, where the second information is used to instruct the secondary base station to establish the first connection the user plane of the connection.

In a possible design, the first request includes information of the primary base station, and the processing module may further determine a second user plane network element according to the information of the primary base station, and the second user plane network element serves the the first connection; after selecting the first user plane network element according to the information of the secondary base station, the processing module may reselect the first user plane network element to serve the first connection according to the information of the secondary base station or, the processing module may insert the first user plane network element between the secondary base station and the second user plane network element, where the first user plane network element is an intermediate user plane network element.

In a possible design, the information of the primary base station includes part or all of the following information: the identity of the primary base station; or the identity of the cell of the primary base station; or the tunnel of the primary base station information.

In one possible design, the session control network element may be an SMF network element.

In one possible design, the user plane network element may be a UPF network element.

In one possible design, the access and mobility management network element may be an AMF network element.

In one possible design, the first connection may be a PDU session.

In addition, the above communication device can also be implemented by hardware components. When the above communication device is implemented by hardware components, the communication device may include a processor, and the processor may be used to execute the steps performed by the above processing modules. When the above communication device is implemented by hardware components, the communication device may further include a transceiver, and the steps performed by the above communication module can be performed by the transceiver. The communication device may also include a memory, which may be used to store a program for the processor to execute to perform the steps performed by the above processing modules.

In a sixth aspect, the present application provides a communication device. The communication device can be used to perform the steps performed by the master base station in the second aspect or any possible design of the second aspect, and the communication device can implement the above-mentioned in the form of a hardware structure, a software module, or a hardware structure plus a software module Each function in each method. For example, when composed of software modules, the communication device may include a communication module and a processing module that are coupled to each other, wherein the communication module may be used to support the communication device to communicate, and the processing module may be used by the communication device to perform processing operations, such as generating information to be sent. /message, or processing a received signal to get information/message. When composed of hardware components, the communication device may include a transceiver, a memory, and a processor, etc. coupled to each other.

When executing the method in the second aspect, the communication module may be used to send a first request, where the first request is used to request to establish a first connection; the communication module may also send information of the secondary base station; the communication module may also receive the first request Tunnel information and second information of a user plane network element, where the first user plane network element serves the first connection, and the second information is used to indicate that the user plane of the first connection passes through the secondary base station; The communication module may further send the tunnel information of the first user plane network element to the secondary base station.

In a possible design, the information of the secondary base station includes tunnel information of the secondary base station, an identity of the secondary base station, or some or all of the identity of the cell of the secondary base station. Further, when the information of the secondary base station does not include the tunnel information of the secondary base station, the communication module may also send the tunnel information of the secondary base station to the access and mobility management network element.

In a possible design, the processing module may be used to select a secondary base station and establish dual connectivity through the secondary base station.

In a possible design, the communication module may also send a second request, where the second request is used to request to establish a second connection; the communication module may also receive first information, where the first information is used to indicate that the primary A user plane of the second connection is established.

In a possible design, the communication module may further receive second information, where the second information is used to indicate the user plane for establishing the first connection through the secondary base station.

In a possible design, the first request includes information of the primary base station. Further, the information of the primary base station includes part or all of the following information: the identity of the primary base station; or, the identity of the cell of the primary base station; or, the tunnel information of the primary base station.

In one possible design, the session control network element may be an SMF network element.

In one possible design, the user plane network element may be a UPF network element.

In one possible design, the access and mobility management network element may be an AMF network element.

In one possible design, the first connection may be a PDU session.

In addition, the above communication device can also be implemented by hardware components. When the above communication device is implemented by hardware components, the communication device may include a processor, and the processor may be used to execute the steps performed by the above processing modules. When the above communication device is implemented by hardware components, the communication device may further include a transceiver, and the steps performed by the above communication module can be performed by the transceiver. The communication device may also include a memory, which may be used to store a program for the processor to execute to perform the steps performed by the above processing modules.

In a seventh aspect, the present application provides a communication device. The communication device can be used to perform the steps performed by the access and mobility management network element in the third aspect or any possible design of the third aspect, and the communication device can be implemented through a hardware structure, a software module, or a hardware structure plus a software module form to implement the functions in the above methods. For example, when composed of software modules, the communication device may include a communication module and a processing module that are coupled to each other, wherein the communication module may be used to support the communication device to communicate, and the processing module may be used by the communication device to perform processing operations, such as generating information to be sent. /message, or processing a received signal to get information/message. When composed of hardware components, the communication device may include a transceiver, a memory, and a processor, etc. coupled to each other.

When executing the method in the third aspect, the communication module may be configured to receive a first request from the primary base station, where the first request is used to request to establish a first connection; the communication module may also send the first session control network element to the first session control network element. the first request; the communication module can also receive information of the secondary base station from the primary base station; the communication module can also receive the tunnel information and the second information of the first user plane network element from the first session control network element, and send the information to the The primary base station sends the tunnel information and second information of the first user plane network element, where the second information is used to instruct the user plane of the first connection to pass through the secondary base station.

In a possible design, the information of the secondary base station includes tunnel information of the secondary base station, an identity of the secondary base station, or some or all of the identity of the cell of the secondary base station. Further, when the information of the secondary base station does not include the tunnel information of the secondary base station, the communication module may also receive the tunnel information of the secondary base station from the primary base station, and send the tunnel information of the secondary base station to the first session control network element. Tunnel information.

In a possible design, the access and mobility management network element may also receive a second request from the primary base station, where the second request is used to request a second connection, and send the first session control network element to the first session control network element. Send the second request, and receive first information from the first session control network element, where the first information is used to indicate the user plane for establishing the second connection through the primary base station, and send the information to the primary base station. the first information.

In a possible design, the communication module may further receive a second request from the primary base station, where the second request is used to request to establish a second connection, send the second request to the second session control network element, and send the second request to the second session control network element. The second session control network element receives first information, where the first information is used to indicate a user plane for establishing the first connection through the primary base station, and sends the first information to the primary base station.

In a possible design, the communication module may further receive second information from the first session control network element, where the second information is used to indicate the user plane for establishing the first connection through the secondary base station; communication The module may also send the second information to the primary base station.

In a possible design, the first request moment includes the information of the primary base station. Further, the information of the primary base station includes part or all of the following information: the identity of the primary base station; or, the identity of the cell of the primary base station; or, the tunnel information of the primary base station.

In a possible design, both the first session control network element and the second session control network element may be SMF network elements. The first session control network element and the second session control network element may be the same session control network element, or may be different session control network elements.

In one possible design, the user plane network element may be a UPF network element.

In one possible design, the access and mobility management network element may be an AMF network element.

In one possible design, the first connection and the second connection may be PDU sessions.

In addition, the above communication device can also be implemented by hardware components. When the above communication device is implemented by hardware components, the communication device may include a processor, and the processor may be used to execute the steps performed by the above processing modules. When the above communication device is implemented by hardware components, the communication device may further include a transceiver, and the steps performed by the above communication module can be performed by the transceiver. The communication device may also include a memory, which may be used to store a program for the processor to execute to perform the steps performed by the above processing modules.

In an eighth aspect, the present application provides a communication system, and the communication system may include the communication apparatus described in any one or more of the fifth aspect, the sixth aspect or the seventh aspect.

In a ninth aspect, the present application provides a computer storage medium, where an instruction (or a program) is stored in the computer storage medium, and when it is invoked and executed on a computer, the computer is made to execute the above-mentioned first aspect or the first aspect. The method described in any one of the possible designs, or for performing the method described in any possible design of the second or second aspect above, or for performing the third aspect or any of the above-mentioned aspects. The method described in a possible design.

In a tenth aspect, the present application provides a computer program product, the computer program product can include instructions, when the computer program product is run on a computer, the computer can execute the first aspect or any one of the possible first aspects. The method described in the design, or the method described in the implementation of the second aspect above or any possible design of the second aspect, or the implementation of the third aspect above or any possible design of the third aspect the method described.

In an eleventh aspect, the present application provides a chip or a chip system including a chip, and the chip may include a processor. The chip may also include memory and/or communication modules. The chip can be used to perform the method described in the first aspect or any possible design of the first aspect, or to perform the method described in the second aspect or any possible design of the second aspect, Or for performing the method described in the above third aspect or any possible design of the third aspect. The chip system may be composed of the above-mentioned chips, and may also include the above-mentioned chips and other discrete devices, such as communication modules.

For the beneficial effects of the above-mentioned fourth to eleventh aspects and their possible designs, reference may be made to the beneficial effects of the methods described in the first aspect and any possible designs thereof, or the second aspect and any possible designs thereof , or a description of the benefits of the method described in the third aspect and any of its possible designs.

Description of drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a wireless communication system provided by the present application;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of another wireless communication system provided by the present application;

3 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of another wireless communication system provided by the present application;

4 is a schematic flowchart of a method for establishing a user plane provided by the present application;

5 is a schematic flowchart of another method for establishing a user plane provided by the present application;

6 is a schematic flowchart of another method for establishing a user plane provided by the present application;

7 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided by the present application;

8 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device provided by the present application;

FIG. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device provided by the present application;

10 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device provided by the application;

11 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device provided by the application;

FIG. 12 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device provided by the present application.

Detailed ways

In order to make the objectives, technical solutions and advantages of the present application clearer, the present application will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The specific operation methods in the method embodiments may also be applied to the apparatus embodiments or the system embodiments.

The terms involved in this application are explained below:

At least one means one, or more than one, that is, including one, two, three and more.

Plural means two, or more than two, that is, including two, three and more.

Carrying may mean that a certain message is used to carry certain information or data, or it may mean that a certain message is composed of certain information.

Coupling refers to indirect coupling or communication connection between devices, units or modules, which can be in electrical, mechanical or other forms, for information exchange between devices, units or modules.

In addition, it should be understood that, in the embodiments of the present application, "and/or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that there may be three kinds of relationships, for example, A and/or B may indicate that A exists alone, and A and B exist at the same time , the case of B alone exists, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character "/" generally indicates that the associated objects are an "or" relationship. "At least one (item) of the following" or its similar expression refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single item (item) or plural item (item). For example, at least one (a) of a, b or c may represent: a, b, c, a and b, a and c, b and c, or a, b and c, where a, b, c Can be single or multiple.

Hereinafter, the embodiments of the present application will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. First, the wireless communication system provided by the embodiment of the present application is introduced, and the method for establishing a user plane provided in the present application can be applied to the system, then the method for establishing a user plane provided by the embodiment of the present application is introduced, and finally the embodiment of the present application is introduced. provided communication means.

As shown in FIG. 1 , a wireless communication system 100 provided by an embodiment of the present application may include a terminal device 101 and a network device 102 .

It should be understood that the wireless communication system 100 provided in this embodiment of the present application may be applicable to both a low frequency scenario (sub 6G) and a high frequency scenario (above 6G). Application scenarios of the wireless communication system 100 provided by the embodiments of the present application include but are not limited to long term evolution (long term evolution, LTE) systems, LTE frequency division duplex (frequency division duplex, FDD) systems, LTE time division duplex (time division duplex, TDD), fifth-generation systems or new radio (NR) communication systems, and future communication systems, etc.

The terminal device 101 shown above may be a user equipment, a terminal (terminal), a mobile station (mobile station, MS), a mobile terminal (mobile terminal), etc. The terminal device 101 can communicate with one or more of one or more communication systems The network device communicates and accepts network services provided by the network device, where the network device includes but is not limited to the network device 102 shown in the figure. For example, the terminal device 101 in this embodiment of the present application may be a mobile phone (or called a "cellular" phone), a computer with a mobile terminal, etc., and the terminal device 101 may also be a portable, pocket-sized, hand-held, built-in computer or in-vehicle mobile devices. The terminal device 101 may also be a communication chip with a communication module.

The network device 102 shown above may include the access network device (or referred to as an access site point) described in this application. Specifically, the network device 102 may include an access network device. In this application, an access network device refers to a device that provides a network access function, such as a radio access network (radio access network, RAN) base station and the like. The network device 102 may specifically include a base station (BS), or a base station and a wireless resource management device for controlling the base station, etc. The network device 102 may be a relay station (relay device), an access point, a vehicle-mounted device, a The wearable device, the base station in the future 5G network, the base station or the NR base station in the future evolved public land mobile network (PLMN) network, etc., are not limited in the embodiments of the present application. The network device 102 may also be a communication chip with a communication module.

During the execution of the method described in this application, the network device 102 may serve as a RAN base station to provide wireless network connections to the terminal device 101, for example, the network device 102 may serve as a 4G access network-evolved universal mobile telecommunications system (universal mobile telecommunications) system, UMTS) access network base station in the terrestrial radio access network (evolved UMTS terrestrial radio access network, E-UTRAN), or, the network device 102 can be used as a 5G access network—the access network base station in the 5G RAN, or , the network device 102 can be used as an access network base station in a future wireless communication system.

The following takes a 5G core network as an example to describe a possible wireless communication system in the embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 2, an exemplary 5G wireless communication system may include a 5G core network 201, and the wireless communication system may further include a 5G access network 202, wherein the 5G core network 201 and the 5G access network 202 can pass through The interface enables interaction. In the wireless communication system scenario, the functional entities used to implement the methods involved in the embodiments of the present application may be network elements (eg, AMF) and/or terminal devices in the 5G core network 201 . Specifically, the terminal device 101 involved in the embodiments of the present application may include a terminal device connected to a base station in a 5G access network 202, such as the UE 203 shown in FIG. 2, the UE 203 is connected to the access network through a wireless link network base station 204, the access network base station 204 may be a base station in the 5G access network 202; the terminal device 101 involved in this embodiment of the present application may further include a UE connected to the relay, such as the UE 205 shown in FIG. 2, The UE 205 is connected to the relay station 206, and the relay station 206 is connected to the access network base station 204 through a relay link. The network device 102 involved in the embodiments of the present application may be the access network base station 204 in the 5G access network 202 as shown in FIG. 2 , or may be connected to the access network base station 204 as shown in FIG. 2 . Relay station 206 .

In addition, taking a 5G network as an example, FIG. 3 illustrates another possible architecture of the wireless communication system provided by the embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 3 , it is a schematic diagram of the fifth-generation network architecture based on the service-oriented architecture. The network architecture shown in FIG. 3 may include three parts, namely, a terminal device part, a data network (DN) and an operator network part.

The operator network may include a network slice selection function (NSSF), a network exposure function (NEF) network element, a network function repository function (NRF) network element, and a policy control function (policy control function). control function (PCF) network element, unified data management (UDM) network element, application function (AF) network element, network vision and awareness function (NVAF) network element, authentication Authentication server function (AUSF) network element, access and mobility management function (AMF) network element, session management function (SMF) network element, (wireless) access network ((radio)access network, (R)AN) and user plane function (user plane function, UPF) network elements, etc. In the above-mentioned operator network, the part other than the (radio) access network part may be referred to as the core network (CN) part. For convenience of description, the following description is given by taking (R)AN called RAN as an example. It should be understood that the above part of the network elements and the connection relationship between the network elements are not shown in FIG. 3 .

The UE shown in FIG. 3 can be a device with wireless transceiver function, which can be deployed on land, including indoor or outdoor, handheld or vehicle; it can also be deployed on water (such as ships, etc.); it can also be deployed on In the air (eg on airplanes, balloons and satellites, etc.). The UE may be a mobile phone (mobile phone), a tablet computer (pad), a computer with a wireless transceiver function, a virtual reality (virtual reality, VR) terminal, an augmented reality (augmented reality, AR) terminal, an industrial control (industrial control) wireless terminals in self-driving, wireless terminals in remote medical, wireless terminals in smart grid, wireless terminals in transportation safety, Wireless terminals in smart cities, wireless terminals in smart homes, etc. The terminal device 101 shown in this application may include the UE shown in FIG. 3 .

The terminal device can also access the DN through the operator's network, and use the operator's service deployed on the DN and/or the service provided by a third party. The above-mentioned third party may be a service provider other than the operator's network and the terminal device, and may provide other services such as data and/or voice for the terminal device. Wherein, the specific expression form of the above third party can be specifically determined according to the actual application scenario, and is not limited here.

The mobility management network element shown above is the control plane network element provided by the operator's network, which is responsible for the access control and mobility management of the terminal equipment when it accesses the operator's network, including, for example, mobility state management, allocation of user temporary identities, Authentication and authorization of users and other functions. In 5G, the mobility management network element may be an AMF network element. In future communications such as the 6th generation (6G), the mobility management network element may still be an AMF network element, or have other names. This Application is not limited.

The session management network element (or session control network element) shown above is a control plane network element provided by the operator network, and is responsible for managing the protocol data unit (PDU) session of the terminal device. A PDU session is a channel for transmitting PDUs. Terminal devices need to communicate PDUs with the DN through the PDU session. The PDU session is established, maintained and deleted by the SMF network element. SMF network elements include session management (such as session establishment, modification and release, including tunnel maintenance between UPF and RAN), selection and control of UPF network elements, Service and Session Continuity (SSC) mode selection, roaming and other session-related functions. In 5G, the session management network element may be an SMF network element. In future communications such as 6G, the session management network element may still be an SMF network element, or have other names, which are not limited in this application.

The user plane function network element (or user plane network element) shown above is a gateway provided by an operator, and is a gateway for communication between the operator's network and the DN. UPF network elements include user plane-related functions such as data packet routing and transmission, packet detection, service usage reporting, Quality of Service (QoS) processing, legal interception, uplink packet detection, and downlink data packet storage. In 5G, the user plane network element may be a UPF network element. In future communications such as 6G, the user plane network element may still be a UPF network element, or have other names, which are not limited in this application.

The above policy control network element is a control plane function provided by the operator, and is used to provide the policy of the PDU session to the SMF network element. The policies may include charging-related policies, QoS-related policies, authorization-related policies, and the like. In 5G, the policy control network element may be a PCF network element. In future communications such as 6G, the policy control network element may still be a PCF network element, or have other names, which are not limited in this application.

Access network equipment refers to equipment that provides wireless communication functions for terminals. Access network equipment includes but is not limited to: next-generation base station (g nodeB, gNB), evolved node B (evolved node B, eNB), radio network controller (radio network controller, RNC), node B (node B) in 5G B, NB), base station controller (BSC), base transceiver station (BTS), home base station (for example, homeevolved nodeB, or home node B, HNB), baseband unit (baseBand unit, BBU) , transmission point (transmitting and receiving point, TRP), transmitting point (transmitting point, TP), mobile switching center, etc.

As shown in FIG. 3 , in the dual-connection architecture, the access network equipment may include a master base station (master gNB, MgNB) and a secondary base station (secondary gNB, SgNB), and the master base station and the secondary base station provide services for the same UE, wherein the master base station. The control plane can interact with the core network. As shown in Figure 3, the primary base station can communicate with the AMF through the N2 interface, and the secondary base station does not interact with the control plane (there is no N2 connection between the secondary base station and the AMF), and is only used for services. transmission of traffic.

It should be understood that the master base station described in this application includes, but is not limited to, the master base station in the dual-connection architecture that has been established, and may also include an access network device serving as the master base station in the dual-connectivity architecture to be established. Similarly, the secondary base station described in this application includes, but is not limited to, the secondary base station in the dual-connectivity architecture that has been established, and may also include access network equipment serving as the secondary base station in the dual-connectivity architecture to be established.

Based on the dual-connection architecture shown in Figure 3, the network can maintain two connections through the primary base station and the secondary base station respectively: the user plane path of the first connection includes the connection between the UE and the primary base station and the connection between the primary base station and UPF1 , the user plane path of the second connection includes the connection between the UE and the secondary base station and the connection between the secondary base station and the UPF2. These two connections access the same data network, for example, the access has the same data network name (data network name). name, DNN) data network. When the two connections transmit the same data, the two connections may be referred to as redundant connections. In 5G, the above-mentioned connection may refer to a PDU session. In future communications such as 6G, the above-mentioned connection may still be a PDU session or have other names, which are not limited in this application.

Taking the above connection as a PDU session as an example, the UE shown in FIG. 3 can access the data network through the primary base station and UPF1 through the first PDU session, and at the same time, the UE can access data through the secondary base station and UPF2 through the second PDU session network. The UPF1 is selected by the SMF1, and the first PDU session is established by the SMF1. UPF2 is selected by SMF2, and the second PDU session is established by SMF2. It should be understood that the architecture shown in FIG. 3 is only an example, and the present application does not exclude that the first PDU session and the second PDU session are established by the same SMF. At this time, both UPF1 and UPF2 are selected by the SMF, and UPF1 and UPF2 It can be connected to the SMF through the N4 interface respectively.

In Figure 3, Namf, Nsmf, Xn, N2, N3, N4, and N6 are interface serial numbers. For the meanings of these interface serial numbers, refer to the meanings defined in the 3GPP standard protocol, which is not limited here.

For the convenience of description, the AMF network element is abbreviated as AMF, the SMF network element is abbreviated as SMF, the RAN device is abbreviated as RAN, and the terminal device is called as UE later in this application.

It should be understood that the network device 102 shown in FIG. 1 can serve as the primary base station and/or the secondary base station in the 5G wireless communication system shown in FIG. 3 , and the terminal device 101 can access the network through the network device 102 .

In order to solve the problems mentioned in the background art, the present application provides a method for establishing a user plane. According to this method, the primary base station can request the network side to establish the connection of the user plane path through the secondary base station, and send the information of the secondary base station to the network side, so that the network side session control network element selects the appropriate user plane network element according to the information of the secondary base station , and establishes the user plane path of the connection according to the user plane network element, so that in the process of establishing the connection, the session control network element can select the user plane network element according to the information of the secondary base station. The information of the primary base station selects the user plane network element, and the path between the selected user plane network element and the secondary base station is better, thereby optimizing the path of the connection on the user plane and improving the connection quality.

In the following, the methods provided by the embodiments of the present application will be introduced respectively by taking the session management network element as the SMF and the user plane network element as the UPF as an example.

As shown in FIG. 4 , the method provided by the embodiment of the present application may include the following steps:

S101: The primary base station sends a first request, where the first request is used to request to establish a first PDU session. The first request may be sent by the terminal device, and the first request may be forwarded or transparently transmitted to the AMF via the main base station, and then sent by the AMF to the SMF. Accordingly, the SMF receives the first request.

S102: The primary base station sends information of the secondary base station. Wherein, the information of the secondary base station can be sent by the primary base station to the AMF, and then sent by the AMF to the SMF. Correspondingly, the SMF receives the information of the secondary base station. It should be noted that the timing for the primary base station to send the information of the secondary base station is not limited, that is, before the primary base station sends the first request, or after the primary base station sends the first request, or when the primary base station sends the first request, simultaneously Information of the secondary base station.

S103: The SMF selects a first UPF according to the information of the secondary base station, where the first UPF serves the first PDU session. The first UPF serving the first PDU session includes that the first UPF is a session anchor UPF of the first PDU session, that is, a PDUsession anchor, or that the first UPF is an intermediate UPF, that is, an intermediate UPF.

S104: The SMF sends the tunnel information (tunnel information) of the first UPF and the second information to the primary base station. The information of the first UPF may be sent by the SMF to the AMF, and then sent by the AMF to the primary base station, and then the primary base station will send the information of the first UPF to the secondary base station. The second information may be used to indicate the user plane for establishing the first connection through the secondary base station. The primary base station may determine to send the tunnel information of the first UPF to the secondary base station based on the second information.

Exemplarily, the second information may include redundant sequence number (redundancy sequence number, RSN) information of the first session (eg, the value of the RSN). The RSN information of the PDU session can be used to indicate the user plane path of the redundant PDU session under dual connectivity, whether the user plane of the PDU session passes through the primary base station or the secondary base station. For example, the SMF may send the RSN information of the first PDU session in the first request as the second information to the primary base station, or the SMF may query the RSN information of the first PDU session according to the first request.

S105: The SMF sends the tunnel information of the secondary base station to the first UPF. Based on the above steps, the first UPF acquires the tunnel information of the secondary base station, and the secondary base station acquires the tunnel information of the first UPF, so that the user plane path of the first PDU session can be established between the secondary base station and the first UPF.

It should be understood that there is no strict timing restriction between the steps shown in S101 and S102 above, that is, the implementation of S101 may be performed first, or the step of S102 may be performed first, which is not specifically limited in this application. There is no strict timing restriction between the steps shown in S104 and S105 above, that is, the implementation of S104 may be performed first, or the step of S105 may be performed first, which is not specifically limited in this application.

Using the above method, in the process of establishing the first PDU session, the SMF can select the first UPF serving the first PDU session according to the information of the secondary base station, and establish the user plane path of the first PDU session according to the first UPF. The user plane path of a PDU session includes the connection between the terminal equipment and the secondary base station and the connection between the secondary base station and the first UPF. Compared with the prior art scheme in which the SMF selects the UPF according to the information of the primary base station, the above method has The selected path between the first UPF and the secondary base station is more optimal, thereby optimizing the user plane path of the first PDU session.

In the step shown in the above S101, the master base station may carry the information of the master base station in the first request in the process of sending the first request, and the information of the master base station includes information that can be used to indicate the location of the master base station, for example, the information of the master base station The identity, the identity of the cell of the master base station, or some or all of the tunnel information of the master base station, the tunnel information of the master base station may be allocated by the master base station. The information of the master base station can be used by the SMF to select the UPF, so as to establish a PDU session according to the selected UPF, so as to realize the optimization of the user plane path of the PDU session via the master base station.

The information of the secondary base station involved in the above process can be used to indicate the location or identity of the secondary base station. For example, the information of the secondary base station may include information about the cell of the secondary base station (such as cell id), or the tunnel information of the secondary base station, or the secondary base station. The information of the base station may include an identifier (RAN node id) of the secondary base station node or an identifier of a tracking area where the secondary base station node is located, such as a tracking area identifier (track area id, TAI). As an example, the SMF can select the UPF according to the cell information of the secondary base station or the TAI where the secondary base station node is located, so as to optimize the connection quality between the secondary base station and the UPF, for example, select the UPF with the closest geographical distance to the secondary base station, to reduce the transmission delay. For another example, according to the identity of the node of the secondary base station or the identity of the cell of the secondary base station, the UPF with the smallest delay with the secondary base station is selected, or the UPF with the best QoS is selected. As another example, the tunnel information of the secondary base station includes information about the cell of the secondary base station, the identity of the secondary base station node, or the identity of the tracking area where the secondary base station node is located. Select UPF for the TAI information where it is located. When the information of the secondary base station does not include the tunnel information of the secondary base station, before the step shown in S105 above, the SMF can also receive the tunnel information of the secondary base station. At this time, the tunnel information of the secondary base station can be sent by the primary base station to the SMF via the AMF. .

In this embodiment of the present application, the above method can be applied to the establishment of a redundant PDU session. As an example, before the step shown in S102 is implemented, if it is determined that a redundant PDU session needs to be established, the SMF may indicate to the master base station that a redundant PDU session needs to be established, and the master base station selects the secondary base station based on the instruction and sends the SMF the information of the secondary base station. information, which is used by the SMF to select the first UPF according to the information of the secondary base station. In this application, in the dual-connectivity scenario, the UE can access different UPFs through the primary base station and the secondary base station respectively, and access the same data network through the different UPFs, thereby accessing the data through two different PDU sessions In the network, the user plane path of one PDU session includes the connection between the UE and the primary base station and the connection between the primary base station and a UPF, and the user plane path of the other PDU session includes the connection between the UE and the secondary base station and the secondary base station. In connection with another UPF, these two PDU sessions may be referred to as redundant PDU sessions (or redundant connections or redundant sessions, or may sometimes be referred to as redundant paths).

It should be understood that the present application does not limit that the above method is only applied to the establishment of a redundant PDU session, and the above examples are only for illustration, and should not be construed as a limitation on the present application. For example, the above method can also be used in a scenario in which a PDU session via the secondary base station needs to be established in a dual-connection architecture. In the dual-connection architecture, two PDU sessions need to be established respectively, and the two PDU sessions are via the primary base station and the secondary base station respectively. The base station can establish a PDU session via the secondary base station according to the method described in this application.

In the implementation of the present application, if a redundant PDU session needs to be established, the SMF can send an instruction to the primary base station, so that the primary base station selects the secondary base station and feeds back the information of the secondary base station to the SMF.

Exemplarily, it may be determined based on a second request that a redundant PDU session needs to be established, wherein the second request is used to request the SMF to establish a second PDU session, and the second PDU session can be used by the terminal device to connect to the same data network, or Say, the second session accesses the data network with the same DNN as the first session. The establishment timing of the first PDU session and the second PDU session does not necessarily have a sequential relationship, that is, the first PDU session may be established before the second PDU session, or the first PDU session may be established after the second PDU session. The timings of the RAN establishing the dual connection and the UE requesting to establish the first PDU session and the second PDU session are not necessarily related in sequence. In one example, the RAN first establishes the dual connection, then establishes the first PDU session, and finally establishes the second PDU session; in another example, the RAN first establishes the dual connection, then establishes the second PDU session, and finally establishes the first PDU session. PDU session; in another example, the second PDU session is established first, then the RAN creates the dual connectivity, and finally the first PDU session is established.

If redundant processing of the second PDU session is required, the SMF can send the first information to the master base station. Exemplarily, the first information may include RSN information of the second session.

Exemplarily, the SMF may send the RSN information of the second PDU session in the second request to the primary base station. Alternatively, if the RSN information of the second PDU session is not included in the second request, the SMF may query the network according to the DNN and network slice selection assistance information (S-NSSAI) of the second PDU session in the second request. Subscription information of the slice, and RSN information of the second PDU session is obtained from the subscription information. Alternatively, the SMF may determine the RSN information of the first PDU session after determining that the session requires redundancy processing according to the subscription information. Alternatively, the first information may include information used to indicate that the user plane of the second PDU session is established through the master base station (here, the master base station after the dual connection establishment is completed), so that the information may indicate that the second PDU session needs to be redundant In addition to processing, this information may be indicated by a specific message and/or a specific bit configured to a specific value. Alternatively, the first information may include information for indicating that the second PDU session needs to perform redundancy processing, and the information may be indicated by a specific message and/or a specific bit configured as a specific value.

As an example, before the step shown in S102, the master base station sends a second request to the SMF, where the second request is used to request to establish a second PDU session, if it is determined according to the second request that the second PDU session needs to be redundant processing, the SMF may send the above-mentioned first information to the master base station. Wherein, the second request may include RSN information of the second PDU session, and/or, the second request may include the DNN and S-NSSAI of the second PDU session. For the method for the SMF to determine that the second PDU session needs to be redundantly processed, reference may be made to the introduction when the SMF determines that the first PDU session needs to be subjected to the redundant processing.

The primary base station may select the secondary base station to establish dual connections based on the first information, or select only the secondary base station to pre-establish dual connections, and send the information of the secondary base station to the SMF for the SMF to select the first UPF according to the information of the secondary base station. Alternatively, the SMF may select the secondary base station to establish a dual connection after establishing the second PDU session, and send the information of the secondary base station to the AMF, and the AMF may send the information of the secondary base station to the SMF, including when the first PDU session is established, the AMF will The information of the secondary base station is sent to the SMF. Alternatively, the AMF may request the primary base station to report the information of the secondary base station after determining that the UE enters the dual connectivity mode. The SMF can subscribe the location reporting service to the AMF, and the AMF notifies the SMF after receiving the information of the secondary base station.

In addition, it may be determined based on the first request received in S101 that a redundant PDU session needs to be established, and when a redundant PDU session needs to be established, the SMF sends second information to the primary base station to instruct the secondary base station to establish the first connection of the user plane.

Exemplarily, the above second information may include RSN information of the first session. For example, the SMF may send the RSN information of the first PDU session in the first request as the second information to the primary base station. Or, if the first request does not contain the RSN information of the first PDU session, the SMF can query the subscription information of the network slice according to the DNN and S-NSSAI of the first PDU session in the first request, and obtain the first PDU from the subscription information RSN information of the session, or, after determining that the session needs redundancy processing according to the subscription information, determine the RSN information of the first PDU session from the subscription information. Alternatively, the second information may include information used to indicate that the user plane of the first PDU session is established through the secondary base station (here, the secondary base station after the dual connection establishment is completed), so that the second information may be used to indicate that the first PDU session needs For redundancy processing, this information may be indicated by a specific message and/or a specific bit configured to a specific value. Alternatively, the second information may include information for indicating that the first PDU session needs to perform redundancy processing, and the information may be indicated by a specific message and/or a specific bit configured as a specific value.

Optionally, the primary base station may, based on the second information, select the secondary base station and establish dual connections. Alternatively, the primary base station only selects the secondary base station to pre-establish a dual connection, and sends the information of the secondary base station to the SMF, so that the SMF selects the first UPF according to the information of the secondary base station. Alternatively, after establishing the second PDU session, the primary base station may select the secondary base station to establish a dual connection, and send the information of the secondary base station to the AMF, and the AMF may send the information of the secondary base station to the SMF, including when the first PDU session is established, the AMF Send the information of the secondary base station to the SMF. Alternatively, the AMF may request the primary base station to report the information of the secondary base station after determining that the UE enters the dual connectivity mode. The SMF can subscribe the location reporting service to the AMF, and the AMF notifies the SMF after receiving the information of the secondary base station.

Optionally, the primary base station may create a dual connection before establishing the second PDU session, and the AMF may request the primary base station to report the information of the secondary base station after the UE enters the dual connection mode. Correspondingly, the AMF receives the secondary base station reported by the primary base station. base station information. The SMF can subscribe the location reporting service to the AMF, and the AMF notifies the SMF after receiving the information of the secondary base station.

Exemplarily, the SMF or other network elements may determine whether a redundant PDU session needs to be established. Taking the SMF as an example, the SMF may determine whether a redundant PDU session needs to be established for the second PDU session according to the above second request. And/or, the SMF may determine, according to the first request, whether the first PDU session needs to establish a redundant PDU session.

The method of judging whether a redundant PDU session needs to be established is described below by taking the first request as an example. For the method of judging whether a redundant PDU session needs to be established according to the second request, reference may be made to the description here.

Exemplarily, the first request may carry the first redundant session indication, for example, carry RSN information of the first session. It may be determined according to the redundancy indication that the first PDU session needs to perform redundancy processing. Optionally, the association relationship between the respective RSN information of two PDU sessions that are mutually redundant PDU sessions can be known according to the configuration, so that whether there is a session associated with the RSN information of the first PDU session can be determined according to the association relationship. If the RSN information exists, it is determined that the first PDU session needs to perform redundancy processing. For example, it is known that a session whose RSN information is RSN_1 and a session whose RSN information is RSN_2 are redundant sessions. When the RSN information carried in the first request is RSN_1, it may be determined that the first PDU session needs to be redundantly processed.

It should be noted that when judging whether a redundant PDU session needs to be established according to the first request, the SMF may not need to perceive the association between the RSN information in the first request and other RSN information, and can directly pass the first request and/or Or the presence of RSN information in the second request can determine that the session needs redundant processing, for example, the RSN information is a specific message and/or a specific bit indication configured as a specific value. The RSN information in the first redundant session indication may be the same as the RSN information in the first information.

Exemplarily, the first request may carry the DNN of the data network requested to be accessed and the information of the network slice requested to be accessed, such as carrying S-NSSAI. The SMF can determine whether redundancy processing needs to be performed on the first PDU session according to the DNN and the S-NSSAI of the first PDU session. For example, the SMF can query the subscription information of the network slice according to the DNN and S-NSSAI, and determine whether redundancy processing is required for the first connection. . Sessions whose S-NSSAI is S-NSSAI_2 are mutually redundant sessions. When the first request carries DNN_1 and S-NSSAI_1, SMF1 determines that the first session needs to perform redundant processing. DNN_1 and DNN_2 may be the same, or S-NSSAI_1 and S-NSSAI_2 may be the same.

Exemplarily, in step S102, the SMF may also receive the information of the primary base station, so that the SMF can judge that there is dual connectivity according to the information of the primary base station and the information of the secondary base station, and then determine that a redundant PDU session needs to be established. The information of the primary base station and the information of the secondary base station may be received at different time points or in different messages.

Exemplarily, in the step shown in S103, before the SMF selects the first UPF according to the information of the secondary base station, it may determine that the first PDU session needs redundancy processing, and/or establish a user plane of the first PDU session through the secondary base station. For example, when the SMF receives the information of the primary base station and the information of the secondary base station at the same time, if the SMF determines to establish the user plane of the first PDU session through the secondary base station, the SMF can select the first UPF according to the information of the secondary base station.

Step S103, the SMF selects the first UPF according to the information of the secondary base station, further comprising: the SMF determines that the first PDU session needs to establish a user plane of the first PDU session through the secondary base station, and the SMF selects the first UPF according to the information of the secondary base station.

As another example, in step S102, the AMF determines that the first PDU session needs to establish a user plane of the first PDU session through the secondary base station according to the configuration or subscription information, and the AMF only sends the information of the secondary base station to the SMF, and the SMF sends the information of the secondary base station to the SMF according to the information of the secondary base station. The information selects UPF, and the SMF does not need to determine whether to use the information of the primary base station or the information of the secondary base station to select the UPF.

In addition, the SMF may also determine that the first PDU session needs to perform redundancy processing according to a policy configured on the SMF or a policy provided by the PCF, which is not specifically limited in this application.

Based on the architecture shown in FIG. 3 , a method for establishing a user plane provided by an embodiment of the present application may include the steps shown in FIG. 5 :

S201: The UE sends a session establishment request (corresponding to the second request in the above method embodiment, hereinafter referred to as the second request) to the AMF through the primary base station, and the second request is used to request the establishment of a PDU session of the user plane path via the primary base station ( Corresponding to the second PDU session in the above method embodiments, hereinafter referred to as the second PDU session). The primary base station plays a role of transparent transmission in the process of sending the second request. Exemplarily, in the process of transparently transmitting the second request to the AMF, the master base station further encapsulates the information of the master base station, such as one or more of the identity of the master base station, the identity of the cell of the master base station, or the tunnel information of the master base station. indivual.

S202: AMF sends the second request to SMF1. Accordingly, SMF1 receives the second request.

S203: SMF1 determines that redundancy processing is required for the second PDU session. Specifically, when the second request carries the second redundant session indication, the SMF1 may determine that the second PDU session needs to perform redundant processing according to the second redundant session indication. Alternatively, when the second request does not carry the second redundant session indication, SMF1 may query subscription information to determine RSN information of the second PDU session according to the DNN and S-NSSAI of the second PDU session carried in the second request. Exemplarily, SMF1 may also select UPF based on the second request and establish a second PDU session. For example, when the second request includes the information of the primary base station, SMF1 may select UPF1 according to the information of the primary base station, and establish the UE and the primary base station and User plane connection between the main base station and UPF1.

S204: SMF1 sends the first information to the AMF. Exemplarily, the first information may be used to indicate a user plane for establishing the second PDU session through the primary base station. Exemplarily, the first information may include a second redundant session indication, for example, RSN information of the second PDU session, and the SMF1 may include the RSN information of the second PDU session included in the second request in the first information, or, When the second request does not include RSN information, SMF1 may query subscription information to determine RSN information of the second PDU session according to the DNN and S-NSSAI of the second PDU session carried in the second request. Accordingly, the AMF receives the first information.

S205: The AMF sends the first information to the primary base station. Accordingly, the primary base station receives the first information.

S206: The primary base station selects a secondary base station in response to the first information. Optionally, the primary base station may establish a dual connection through the secondary base station after selecting the secondary base station. Exemplarily, the secondary base station is selected to establish dual connectivity, or only the secondary base station is selected to pre-establish dual connectivity. The pre-establishment of dual connections includes that the primary base station first selects a suitable secondary base station to prepare for the subsequent establishment of dual connections, but does not complete the establishment of dual connections.

S207: The primary base station carries the information of the secondary base station in the N2 message, and sends the message to the AMF. Exemplarily, the information of the secondary base station here may include location information of the secondary base station, for example, including an identifier of the secondary base station, an identifier of a cell of the secondary base station, and/or including tunnel information of the secondary base station. Correspondingly, the AMF receives the information of the secondary base station.

S208: The AMF stores the information of the secondary base station.

It is worth noting that, in steps S206 to S208, the AMF acquires the information of the secondary base station in the process of creating the second PDU session. As another example, after the second PDU session is established and the primary base station establishes the dual connection, the primary base station may send the information of the secondary base station to the AMF. The AMF may request the primary base station to report the information of the secondary base station after determining that the UE enters the dual connectivity mode. Exemplarily, the SMF1 may subscribe the location reporting service to the AMF, and the AMF notifies the SMF1 after receiving the information of the secondary base station. The AMF may also send the information of the secondary base station to the second SMF, including when the first PDU session is established, the AMF sends the information of the secondary base station to the second SMF. As another example, the primary base station may create a dual connection before establishing the second PDU session, and the AMF may request the primary base station to report the information of the secondary base station after the UE enters the dual connection mode. Correspondingly, the AMF receives the information reported by the primary base station. Information of the secondary base station. The SMF can subscribe the location reporting service to the AMF, and the AMF notifies the SMF after receiving the information of the secondary base station.

S209: The UE sends a session establishment request (corresponding to the first request in the foregoing method embodiment, hereinafter referred to as the first request) to the AMF through the primary base station, and the first request is used to request the establishment of a PDU session of the user plane path via the secondary base station ( Corresponding to the first PDU session in the above method embodiments, hereinafter referred to as the first PDU session). The first request may carry the first redundant session indication, such as redundant sequence number information (such as the value of RSN) of the first PDU session, or the first request may carry the DNN requesting the first PDU session and the information of the network slice information, such as S-NSSAI. Exemplarily, the primary base station plays a role of transparent transmission in the process of sending the first request. Accordingly, the AMF receives the first request.

S210: The AMF sends the first request and the information of the secondary base station to the SMF2. Correspondingly, the SMF2 receives the second request and the information of the secondary base station. Wherein, SMF2 and SMF1 are the same SMF, or SMF2 and SMF1 are different SMFs. Exemplarily, after determining that the UE is in the dual connectivity mode, the AMF may query the information of the secondary base station, and send the first request and the information of the secondary base station to the SMF2. The manner in which the information of the secondary base station is acquired by the AMF is as described in S208, which will not be repeated here. The AMF may acquire the information of the secondary base station before step S209, or may query in real time in step S209, which is not limited in the present invention. It should be understood that here the AMF may send the first request and the information of the secondary base station to the SMF2 through one message, or may send the first request and the information of the secondary base station respectively through different messages.

S211: SMF2 selects a UPF according to the information of the secondary base station, and the UPF provides services for the first PDU session. SMF2 selects the first UPF according to the information of the secondary base station, including: SMF2 determines that the first PDU session needs to establish a user plane of the first PDU session through the secondary base station, and SMF2 selects the first UPF according to the information of the secondary base station.

S212: An N4 session is established between the SMF2 and the UPF, and the tunnel information of the UPF is allocated by the SMF2 or the UPF.

S213: SMF2 sends the tunnel information of the UPF and the second information to the primary base station via the AMF. Accordingly, the primary base station receives the tunnel information of the UPF.

Wherein, the second information may include RSN information of the first PDU session. The RSN information may be acquired from the first request, or the subscription information may be queried according to the first request, and the RSN information of the first PDU session may be acquired from the subscription information.

S214: The primary base station sends the tunnel information of the UPF to the secondary base station.

S215: The primary base station sends the tunnel information of the secondary base station to the AMF. Correspondingly, the AMF receives the tunnel information of the secondary base station.

S216: The AMF sends the tunnel information of the secondary base station to the SMF2. Steps S215-S216 are optional steps. Specifically, when the information of the secondary base station involved in the step shown in S210 includes the tunnel information of the secondary base station, the steps shown in S215-S216 may not be executed.

S217: SMF2 sends the information of the secondary base station to the UPF. Here, the tunnel information of the secondary base station may be included in the information of the secondary base station received by the SMF2 in S210, or may be sent by the AMF in the step shown in S206. So far, the user plane path establishment process of the first PDU session is completed.

Exemplarily, when it is determined based on the first request that a redundant session needs to be established, another method for establishing a user plane provided by this embodiment of the present application may include the steps shown in FIG. 6 :

S301: The UE sends a session establishment request (corresponding to the first request in the foregoing method embodiment, hereinafter referred to as the first request) to the AMF through the primary base station, and the first request is used to request the establishment of a PDU session of the user plane path via the secondary base station ( Corresponding to the first PDU session in the above method embodiments, hereinafter referred to as the first PDU session). The first request may carry the first redundant session indication, such as redundant sequence number information of the first session (such as the value of RSN), or the first request may carry the DNN and network slice information of the first PDU session, Such as S-NSSAI. Exemplarily, the primary base station plays a role of transparent transmission in the process of sending the first request. Exemplarily, in the process of transparently transmitting the second request to the AMF, the master base station further encapsulates the information of the master base station, for example, including the identity of the master base station, the identity of the cell of the master base station, or part of the tunnel information of the master base station. or all information.

S302: The AMF sends the first request to the SMF. Accordingly, the SMF receives the first request.

S303: The SMF determines that the first PDU session needs to perform redundancy processing. Exemplarily, when the first request includes the information of the primary base station, the SMF may select a UPF (hereinafter referred to as UPF1) that provides services for the first PDU session according to the information of the primary base station.

S304: The SMF sends the second information to the AMF. Exemplarily, the second information may be used to indicate a user plane for establishing the first PDU session through the secondary base station. Exemplarily, the second information may include the first redundant session indication, for example, RSN information of the first PDU session, and the SMF may carry the RSN information of the first PDU session included in the first request in the second information, or, When the first request does not include RSN information, the SMF may query the subscription information to determine the RSN information of the first PDU session according to the DNN and S-NSSAI of the first PDU session carried in the first request. Accordingly, the AMF receives the second information.

S305: The AMF sends the second information to the primary base station. Accordingly, the primary base station receives the second information.

S306: The primary base station selects the secondary base station in response to the second information. Optionally, the primary base station may establish a dual connection through the secondary base station after selecting the secondary base station. Exemplarily, the secondary base station is selected to establish dual connectivity, or only the secondary base station is selected to pre-establish dual connectivity. The pre-establishment of dual connections includes that the primary base station first selects a suitable secondary base station to prepare for the subsequent establishment of dual connections, but does not complete the establishment of dual connections.

S307: The primary base station carries the information of the secondary base station in the N2 message, and sends the message to the AMF. Exemplarily, the information of the secondary base station here may include location information of the secondary base station, such as including an identifier of a cell of the secondary base station, and/or including tunnel information of the secondary base station. Correspondingly, the AMF receives the information of the secondary base station.

S308: The AMF sends the information of the secondary base station to the SMF. Correspondingly, the SMF receives the information of the secondary base station.

S309: The SMF selects a UPF (hereinafter referred to as UPF2) that provides services for the first PDU session according to the information of the secondary base station. Exemplarily, the SMF may re-select the UPF that will serve the first PDU session from UPF1 to UPF2; or, the SMF may insert an intermediate UPF (intermediate UPF) to be UPF2.

S310: An N4 session is established between the SMF and the UPF2, and the tunnel information of the UPF2 is allocated by the SMF or the UPF2. Specifically, in the case where the SMF will reselect the UPF serving the first PDU session from UPF1 to UPF2, SMF or UPF2 may allocate the N3 session uplink tunnel information of UPF2. For the case where SMF is inserted into the intermediate UPF, SMF or UPF2 can allocate the upstream tunnel information of the N3 session of UPF2, and SMF can also establish a connection between UPF2 and UPF1, such as an N9 connection, and SMF or UPF2 can allocate the downstream tunnel information of the N9 session. In addition, if the information of the secondary base station received by the SMF in S308 includes the tunnel information of the secondary base station, in the implementation of S310, the SMF may send the tunnel information of the secondary base station to the UPF2.

S311: The SMF sends a session update request or a session release request to the UPF1. Specifically, in the case where the SMF will reselect the UPF serving the first PDU session from UPF1 to UPF2, the SMF may send a session release request to UPF1 to release resources corresponding to UPF1. In the case where the SMF is inserted into the intermediate UPF, the SMF may send a session update request to the UPF1, which may carry the downlink tunnel information of the N9 session of the UPF2.

S312: The SMF sends the N3 uplink tunnel information and the second information of the UPF2 to the primary base station via the AMF. Correspondingly, the primary base station receives the tunnel information of UPF2.

S313: The primary base station sends the N3 uplink tunnel information of the UPF2 to the secondary base station.

S314: The primary base station sends the tunnel information of the secondary base station to the AMF. Correspondingly, the AMF receives the tunnel information of the secondary base station.

S315: The AMF sends the tunnel information of the secondary base station to the SMF. Steps S314-S315 are optional steps. Specifically, when the information of the secondary base station involved in the step shown in S308 includes the tunnel information of the secondary base station, the steps shown in S314-S315 may not be performed.

S316: The SMF sends the information of the secondary base station to the UPF2. Here, the tunnel information of the secondary base station may be included in the information of the secondary base station received by the SMF2 in S210, or may be sent by the AMF in the step shown in S206. So far, the user plane path establishment process of the first PDU session is completed.

Based on the same inventive concept as the above method embodiments, the embodiments of the present application further provide a communication device, the communication device may have the session control network element, the main base station, or the access and mobility management network element in the above method embodiments. One or more of the functions can be used to perform the corresponding steps provided in the above method embodiments. The functions can be implemented by hardware, and can also be implemented by software or hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above functions.

In a possible implementation manner, the communication apparatus 700 shown in FIG. 7 may be used as a session control network element (including the SMF described in the above method embodiments) involved in the above method embodiments, and execute the above method embodiments Steps performed by a session control network element. As shown in FIG. 7 , the communication device 700 may include a communication module 701 and a processing module 702, and the communication module 701 and the processing module 702 are coupled to each other. The communication module 701 can be used to support the communication device to communicate, and the processing module 702 can be used by the communication device to perform processing operations, such as generating information/messages to be sent, or processing signals received by the communication module 701 to obtain information/messages. The processing module 702 may also be configured to support the communication apparatus 700 to perform the processing actions in the foregoing method embodiments.

When executing the method embodiment, the communication module 701 may be configured to receive a first request, where the first request is used to request to establish a first connection, and receive information of the secondary base station; the processing module 702 may be configured to receive information from the secondary base station according to the select the first user plane network element, the first user plane network element serves the first connection; the communication module 701 can also send the tunnel information and second information of the first user plane network element to the main The base station, where the second information is used to indicate that the user plane of the first connection passes through the secondary base station. The communication module 701 may also send the tunnel information of the secondary base station to the first user plane network element.

In a possible design, the information of the secondary base station includes tunnel information of the secondary base station, an identity of the secondary base station, or some or all of the identity of the cell of the secondary base station.

In a possible design, if the information of the secondary base station does not include the tunnel information of the secondary base station, the communication module 701 may also receive the tunnel information of the secondary base station.

In a possible design, the communication module 701 may also receive a second request from the primary base station, where the second request is used to request to establish a second connection; if the second connection needs to perform redundant processing, the communication module 701 may send first information to the primary base station, where the first information is used to indicate a user plane for establishing the second connection through the primary base station.

In a possible design, if redundant processing is required for the first connection, the communication module 701 may send second information to the primary base station, where the second information is used to instruct the secondary base station to establish the the user plane of the first connection.

In a possible design, the first request includes the information of the primary base station, and the processing module 702 may further determine a second user plane network element according to the information of the primary base station, and the second user plane network element serves in the first connection; after selecting the first user plane network element according to the information of the secondary base station, the processing module 702 may reselect the first user plane network element to serve the first user plane network element according to the information of the secondary base station a connection; or, the processing module 702 may insert the first user plane network element between the secondary base station and the second user plane network element, where the first user plane network element is an intermediate user plane network element.

In a possible design, the information of the primary base station includes part or all of the following information: the identity of the primary base station; or the identity of the cell of the primary base station; or the tunnel of the primary base station information.

In one possible design, the session control network element may be an SMF network element.

In one possible design, the user plane network element may be a UPF network element.

In one possible design, the access and mobility management network element may be an AMF network element.

In one possible design, the first connection may be a PDU session.

In another implementation manner, the communication apparatus provided by the embodiments of the present application may also be constituted by hardware components, such as a processor, a memory, or a transceiver.

Exemplarily, if the communication device is a path information management network element, its structure may be as shown in FIG. 8 . For ease of understanding, FIG. 8 only shows the necessary structure for executing the method shown in the present application, and the present application does not limit that the communication device may have more components. The communication device 800 may include a transceiver 801 , a memory 802 and a processor 803 . The transceiver 801 may be used for communication by a communication device, such as for sending or receiving signals. The memory 802 is coupled with the processor 803, and is used for storing programs and data necessary for the communication device 800 to realize various functions. The processor 803 is configured to support the communication device 800 to perform corresponding processing functions in the above methods, such as generating information, messages sent by the transceiver 801, and/or demodulating and decoding signals received by the transceiver 801, and so on. The above memory 802 and processor 803 can be integrated into one body or independent of each other.

Specifically, the transceiver 801 may be an interface, such as an interface used for communication between network elements in the core network.

It should be understood that the above memory 802 may also be externally connected to the communication device 800 , in which case the communication device 800 may include a transceiver 801 and a processor 803 .

It should be understood that the above transceiver 801 may also be externally connected to the communication device 800 , and in this case, the communication device 800 may include a memory 802 and a processor 803 . When both the transceiver 801 and the memory 802 are externally connected to the communication device 800 , the communication device 800 may include a processor 803 .

When the above communication device is implemented through the structure shown in FIG. 8 , the steps performed by the above processing module 702 can be performed by the processor 803 , and the steps performed by the above communication module 701 can be performed by the transceiver 801 . When the communication device 800 includes the storage 802 , the storage 802 can be used to store a program for the processor 803 to execute the program to perform the steps performed by the above processing module 702 .

Exemplarily, the communication apparatus 900 shown in FIG. 9 can be used as the master base station involved in the foregoing method embodiments, and perform the steps performed by the master base station in the foregoing method embodiments. As shown in FIG. 9 , the communication device 900 may include a communication module 901 and a processing module 902, and the communication module 901 and the processing module 902 are coupled to each other. The communication module 901 can be used to support the communication device to communicate, and the processing module 902 can be used by the communication device to perform processing operations, such as generating information/messages to be sent, or processing signals received by the communication module 901 to obtain information/messages. The processing module 902 may also be configured to support the communication apparatus 900 to perform the processing actions in the foregoing method embodiments.

When executing the method embodiment, the communication module 901 may be configured to send a first request, where the first request is used to request to establish a first connection; the communication module 901 may also send information of the secondary base station; the communication module 901 may also receive the first request Tunnel information and second information of a user plane network element, where the first user plane network element serves the first connection, and the second information is used to indicate that the user plane of the first connection passes through the secondary base station ; the communication module 901 may also send the tunnel information of the first user plane network element to the secondary base station.

In a possible design, the information of the secondary base station includes tunnel information of the secondary base station, an identity of the secondary base station, or some or all of the identity of the cell of the secondary base station.

In a possible design, if the information of the secondary base station does not include the tunnel information of the secondary base station, the communication module 901 may also send the tunnel information of the secondary base station to the access and mobility management network element.

In a possible design, the processing module 902 may be configured to select a secondary base station, and establish dual connectivity through the secondary base station.

In a possible design, the communication module 901 may also send a second request, where the second request is used to request to establish a second connection; the communication module 901 may also receive first information, where the first information is used to indicate that the The primary base station establishes the user plane of the second connection.

In a possible design, the communication module 901 may further receive second information, where the second information is used to indicate the user plane for establishing the first connection through the secondary base station.

In a possible design, the first request includes information of the primary base station. Further, the information of the primary base station includes part or all of the following information: the identity of the primary base station; or, the identity of the cell of the primary base station; or, the tunnel information of the primary base station.

In one possible design, the session control network element may be an SMF network element.

In one possible design, the user plane network element may be a UPF network element.

In one possible design, the access and mobility management network element may be an AMF network element.

In one possible design, the first connection may be a PDU session.

In addition, if the communication device is the main base station, its structure may be as shown in FIG. 10 . For ease of understanding, FIG. 10 only shows the necessary structure for executing the method shown in the present application, and the present application does not limit that the communication device may have more components. The communication device 1000 may include a core network interface transceiver 1001 , a memory 1002 , a processor 1003 and an air interface transceiver 1004 . The core network interface transceiver 1001 may be used for communication by a communication device, such as for sending or receiving signals. The memory 1002 is coupled to the processor 1003, and is used for storing programs and data necessary for the communication device 1000 to realize various functions. The processor 1003 is configured to support the communication apparatus 1000 to perform corresponding processing functions in the above-mentioned methods, such as generating information and messages sent by the core network interface transceiver 1001 , and/or performing processing on signals received by the core network interface transceiver 1001 . Demodulation and decoding, etc. The above memory 1002 and processor 1003 can be integrated into one body or independent of each other. The air interface transceiver 1004 may be used to support the communication device 1000 to receive and transmit signaling and/or data over the wireless air interface.

Specifically, the core network interface transceiver 1001 may be a wired communication interface, such as an interface for communicating with network elements in the core network.

It should be understood that the above memory 1002 may also be externally connected to the communication device 1000 , in which case the communication device 1000 may include a core network interface transceiver 1001 and a processor 1003 .

It should be understood that the above core network interface transceiver 1001 and air interface transceiver 1004 may also be externally connected to the communication device 1000 , and in this case, the communication device 1000 may include a memory 1002 and a processor 1003 . When the core network interface transceiver 1001 , the memory 1002 and the air interface transceiver 1004 are all externally connected to the communication device 1000 , the communication device 1000 may include a processor 1003 .

When the above communication device is implemented through the structure shown in FIG. 10 , the steps performed by the above processing module 902 can be performed by the processor 1003 , and the steps performed by the above communication module 901 are performed by the core network interface transceiver 1001 . When the communication device 1000 includes the storage 1002 , the storage 1002 can be used to store a program for the processor 1003 to execute the program to perform the steps performed by the above processing module 902 .

Exemplarily, the communication device 1100 shown in FIG. 11 can be used as the access and mobility management function network element (including AMF) involved in the above method embodiments, and execute the access and mobility management function network elements in the above method embodiments. Meta execution steps. As shown in FIG. 11 , the communication device 1100 may include a communication module 1101 and a processing module 1102, and the communication module 1101 and the processing module 1102 are coupled to each other. The communication module 1101 can be used to support the communication device to communicate, and the processing module 1102 can be used by the communication device to perform processing operations, such as generating information/messages to be sent, or processing signals received by the communication module 1101 to obtain information/messages. The processing module 1102 may also be configured to support the communication device 1100 to perform the processing actions in the foregoing method embodiments.

When executing the method embodiment, the communication module 1101 may be configured to receive a first request from the master base station, where the first request is used to request to establish a first connection; the communication module 1101 may also send the first session control network element to the first session control network element. The first request; the communication module 1101 can also receive information of the secondary base station from the primary base station; the communication module 1101 can also receive the tunnel information and the second information of the first user plane network element from the first session control network element, and Send the tunnel information of the first user plane network element and the second information to the primary base station, where the second information is used to instruct the user plane of the first connection to pass through the secondary base station.

In a possible design, the information of the secondary base station includes tunnel information of the secondary base station, an identity of the secondary base station, or some or all of the identity of the cell of the secondary base station.

In a possible design, the information of the secondary base station does not include the tunnel information of the secondary base station, and the communication module 1101 may further receive the tunnel information of the secondary base station from the primary base station, and report to the first session control network element to send the tunnel information of the secondary base station.

In a possible design, the access and mobility management network element may also receive a second request from the primary base station, where the second request is used to request a second connection, and send the first session control network element to the first session control network element. Send the second request, and receive first information from the first session control network element, where the first information is used to indicate the user plane for establishing the second connection through the primary base station, and send the information to the primary base station. the first information.

In a possible design, the communication module 1101 may further receive a second request from the primary base station, where the second request is used to request to establish a second connection, and send the second request to the second session control network element, Receive first information from the second session control network element, where the first information is used to indicate a user plane for establishing the first connection through the primary base station, and send the first information to the primary base station.

In a possible design, the communication module 1101 may further receive second information from the first session control network element, where the second information is used to indicate the user who established the first connection through the secondary base station The communication module 1101 may also send the second information to the primary base station.

In a possible design, the first request moment includes the information of the primary base station. Further, the information of the primary base station includes part or all of the following information: the identity of the primary base station; or, the identity of the cell of the primary base station; or, the tunnel information of the primary base station.

In a possible design, both the first session control network element and the second session control network element may be SMF network elements. The first session control network element and the second session control network element may be the same session control network element, or may be different session control network elements.

In one possible design, the user plane network element may be a UPF network element.

In one possible design, the access and mobility management network element may be an AMF network element.

In one possible design, the first connection and the second connection may be PDU sessions.

In addition, if the communication device is an access and mobility management network element, its structure may be as shown in FIG. 12 . For ease of understanding, FIG. 12 only shows the necessary structure for executing the method shown in the present application, and the present application does not limit that the communication device may have more components. The communication device 1200 may include a transceiver 1201 , a memory 1202 and a processor 1203 . The transceiver 1201 may be used for communication by a communication device, such as for sending or receiving signals. The memory 1202 is coupled with the processor 1203, and is used for storing programs and data necessary for the communication device 1200 to realize various functions. The processor 1203 is configured to support the communication device 1200 to perform corresponding processing functions in the above methods, such as generating information and messages sent by the transceiver 1201, and/or demodulating and decoding signals received by the transceiver 1201, and so on. The above memory 1202 and processor 1203 can be integrated into one body or independent of each other.

Specifically, the transceiver 1201 may be an interface, such as an interface used for communication between network elements in the core network.

It should be understood that the above memory 1202 may also be externally connected to the communication device 1200 , and in this case, the communication device 1200 may include a transceiver 1201 and a processor 1203 .

It should be understood that the above transceiver 1201 may also be externally connected to the communication device 1200 , and in this case, the communication device 1200 may include a memory 1202 and a processor 1203 . When both the transceiver 1201 and the memory 1202 are externally connected to the communication device 1200 , the communication device 1200 may include a processor 1203 .

When the above communication device is implemented by the structure shown in FIG. 12 , the processor 1203 can execute the steps executed by the processing module 1102 , and the transceiver 1201 can execute the steps executed by the communication module 1101 . When the communication device 1200 includes the storage 1202, the storage 1202 can be used to store a program for the processor 1203 to execute the program to perform the steps performed by the above processing module 1102.

It should be understood that the description of the components included in the communication apparatus in the above embodiments is illustrative, and is only a possible example, which may have other configuration modes during actual implementation. In addition, each component in the above communication apparatus may be integrated into one module, or may exist independently physically. The above-mentioned integrated modules can be implemented in either the form of hardware or the form of software function modules, which should not be construed as being limited to the structures shown in the above drawings.

Based on the same concept as the above method embodiments, the embodiments of the present application further provide a computer-readable storage medium on which a computer program is stored. When the program is executed by a processor, the computer is made to execute the above method embodiments and method implementations. The operations performed by the session management network element, the master base station, or the access and mobility management network element in any of the possible implementations of the example.

Based on the same concept as the above method embodiments, the present application also provides a computer program product, which, when invoked and executed by a computer, can enable the computer to implement the above method embodiments and any possible implementation manner of the method embodiments. Operations performed by the session management network element, the primary base station, or the access and mobility management network element in

Based on the same concept as the above method embodiments, the present application further provides a chip or a chip system, the chip can be coupled with a transceiver, and is used to implement the above method embodiments and any possible implementation manners of the method embodiments by using a session Operations performed by a management network element, a primary base station, or an access and mobility management network element. The chip system may include the chip.

Based on the same concept as the above method embodiments, the present application further provides a communication system, which can be used to implement the above method embodiments and any possible implementation manners of the method embodiments by the session management network element, the main base station or the Operations performed by access and mobility management network elements. Exemplarily, the communication system has a structure as shown in FIG. 4 .

The embodiments of the present application are described with reference to the flowcharts and/or block diagrams of the methods, apparatuses, and computer program products involved in the embodiments. It will be understood that each process and/or block in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of processes and/or blocks in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to the processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, embedded processor or other programmable data processing device to produce a machine such that the instructions executed by the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing device produce Means for implementing the functions specified in a flow or flow of a flowchart and/or a block or blocks of a block diagram.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable memory capable of directing a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory result in an article of manufacture comprising instruction means, the instructions The apparatus implements the functions specified in the flow or flows of the flowcharts and/or the block or blocks of the block diagrams.

These computer program instructions can also be loaded on a computer or other programmable data processing device to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable device to produce a computer-implemented process such that The instructions provide steps for implementing the functions specified in the flow or blocks of the flowcharts and/or the block or blocks of the block diagrams.

Claims (22)

1. A method of communication, comprising:

a session control network element receives a first request, wherein the first request is used for requesting to establish a first connection;

the session control network element receives the information of the auxiliary base station;

the session control network element selects a first user plane network element according to the information of the auxiliary base station, and the first user plane network element serves the first connection;

the session control network element sends tunnel information and second information of the first user plane network element to a master base station, wherein the second information is used for indicating that the first connected user plane passes through the auxiliary base station;

and the session control network element sends the tunnel information of the auxiliary base station to the first user plane network element.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the information of the secondary base station includes some or all of the following information:

an identity of the secondary base station; or,

an identity of a cell of the secondary base station; or,

the tunnel information of the secondary base station.

3. The method of claim 1,

the method further comprises the following steps:

and the session control network element receives the tunnel information of the auxiliary base station.

4. The method of any one of claims 1-3, further comprising:

the session control network element receives a second request from the master base station, wherein the second request is used for requesting to establish a second connection;

and the session control network element sends first information to the master base station, wherein the first information is used for indicating a user plane for establishing the second connection through the master base station.

5. The method of any one of claims 1 to 3,

the second information is used for indicating the user plane of the first connection established through the secondary base station.

6. The method of any of claims 1-5, wherein the first request includes information of the master base station, the method further comprising:

the session control network element determines a second user plane network element according to the information of the main base station, wherein the second user plane network element serves the first connection;

the selecting, by the session control network element, the first user plane network element according to the information of the auxiliary base station includes:

the session control network element reselects the first user plane network element to serve the first connection according to the information of the auxiliary base station; or,

the session control network element inserts the first user plane network element between the auxiliary base station and the second user plane network element, and the first user plane network element is an intermediate user plane network element.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the information of the master base station includes some or all of the following information:

an identity of the master base station; or,

an identity of a cell of the master base station; or,

tunnel information of the master base station.

8. A method of communication, comprising:

the main base station sends a first request, and the first request is used for requesting to establish a first connection;

the main base station sends the information of the auxiliary base station;

the master base station receives tunnel information and second information of a first user plane network element, the first user plane network element serves the first connection, and the second information is used for indicating that a user plane of the first connection passes through the auxiliary base station;

and the main base station sends the tunnel information of the first user plane network element to the auxiliary base station.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the information of the secondary base station includes some or all of the following information:

an identity of the secondary base station; or,

an identity of a cell of the secondary base station; or,

the tunnel information of the secondary base station.

10. The method of claim 1,

the method further comprises the following steps:

and the main base station sends the tunnel information of the auxiliary base station to an access and mobile management network element.

11. The method of any one of claims 8-10, wherein the method further comprises:

and the main base station selects an auxiliary base station and establishes double connection through the auxiliary base station.

12. The method of any of claims 8-11, further comprising:

the main base station sends a second request, and the second request is used for requesting to establish a second connection;

and the main base station receives first information, wherein the first information is used for indicating a user plane for establishing the second connection through the main base station.

13. The method of any one of claims 8-1,

the second information is used for indicating the user plane of the first connection established through the secondary base station.

14. The method of any of claims 8-13, wherein the first request includes information of the master base station.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the information of the master base station includes some or all of the following information:

an identity of the master base station; or,

an identity of a cell of the master base station; or,

tunnel information of the master base station.

16. A method of communication, comprising:

the main base station sends a first request to an access and mobile management network element, wherein the first request is used for requesting to establish a first connection;

the access and mobility management network element sends the first request to a session control network element;

the main base station sends the information of the auxiliary base station to the access and mobile management network element;

the access and mobility management network element sends the information of the auxiliary base station to the session control network element;

the session control network element selects a first user plane network element according to the information of the auxiliary base station, and the first user plane network element serves the first connection;

the session control network element sends tunnel information and second information of the first user plane network element to the access and mobility management network element, wherein the second information is used for indicating that the first connected user plane passes through the auxiliary base station;

the access and mobility management network element sends the tunnel information and the second information of the first user plane network element to the master base station;

and the main base station sends the tunnel information of the first user plane network element to the auxiliary base station.

17. A communications apparatus, comprising a processor;

the processor to read and execute instructions from the memory to perform the method of any of claims 1-7.

18. A communications apparatus, comprising a processor;

the processor to read and execute instructions from the memory to perform the method of any of claims 8-15.

19. A communication system comprising a communication device according to claim 17 and/or a communication device according to claim 18.

20. A computer storage medium having instructions stored therein, wherein when the instructions are invoked for execution on a computer, the computer performs the method of any of claims 1-15.

21. A computer program product, characterized in that the computer program product comprises instructions, which, when the computer program product is run on a computer, the computer performs the method according to any of claims 1-15.

22. A chip coupled with a transceiver, the chip being configured to perform the method of any of claims 1-15.

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