WO2018082517A1 - Method, network element and system for deleting user plane tunnel - Google Patents

Abstract

Embodiments of the present application relate to the technical field of communications, and provide a method, network element and system for deleting a user plane tunnel. The method is applied to a communication system. The communication system comprises a control plane network element and a user plane network element. At least one user plane tunnel exists between the control plane network element and the user plane network element. The method comprises: the control plane network element determines that a target user plane tunnel meeting a preset condition is present in the at least one user plane tunnel; the control plane network element sends a request message to the user plane network element, the request message being used for instructing the user plane network element to delete the target user plane tunnel; the user plane network element deletes the target user plane tunnel according to the request message. In the solution provided by the embodiments of the present application, a technical solution of deleting the user plane tunnel between the control plane network element and the user plane network element is provided for a scene where a control plane and a user plane are separated, so that the user plane tunnel can be deleted when not needed, and resources are thus saved.

Description

Method, network element and system for deleting user plane tunnel

This application claims the priority of the Chinese Patent Application filed on November 4, 2016, the National Intellectual Property Office, the application number is 201610963406.9, and the invention name is “Deleting User Tunnels, Network Elements and Systems”. Combined in this application.

Technical field

The present application relates to the field of communications technologies, and in particular, to a method, a network element, and a system for deleting a user plane tunnel.

Background technique

Control and User Plane Separation (CUPS) is a trend in the core network architecture. The functions of Control Plane (CP) and User Plane (UP) are implemented by different functional entities, so that the control plane and the user plane can use different software or hardware resources respectively, and can be deployed to different locations according to requirements. For greater flexibility.

Taking the core network of the 4th Generation (4G) system as an example, the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) proposes a Serving Gateway (SGW) and a Packet Data Network (Packet Data Network). The Gateway, PDN-GW or PGW is divided into a control plane functional entity and a user plane functional entity, respectively, and an interface between the control plane functional entity and the user plane functional entity is added. The SGW is divided into a serving gateway control plane network element of the SGW and a serving gateway user plane (NEG) network element, and the PGW is divided into a PDN gateway control plane network element and a PGW. User plane (PDN gateway user plane) network element. The control plane network element and the user plane network element of the SGW can be respectively described as SGW-C and SGW-U. The control plane network element and the user plane network element of the PGW can be respectively described as PGW-C and PGW-U. SGW-C and PGW-C can be deployed on the same physical device. The combined SGW-C and PGW-C can be called a unified gateway control plane network element, for example, it can be described as SGW/PGW-C; SGW- U and PGW-U can also be deployed on the same physical device. The combined SGW-U and PGW-U can be called a unified gateway user plane network element, for example, it can be described as SGW/PGW-C. The SGW-C, PGW-C, and SGW/PGW-C belong to the control plane network element, and the SGW-U, PGW-U, and SGW/PGW-U belong to the user plane network element. A control plane tunnel and a user plane tunnel are established between the control plane network element and the user plane network element. The control plane tunnel is mainly used for transmitting control plane signaling, and the user plane tunnel is mainly used for transmission. User face data.

At present, in the scenario where the control plane and the user plane are separated, the user plane tunnel between the control plane network element and the user plane network element is also retained without data transmission, resulting in waste of resources.

Summary of the invention

The embodiment of the present application provides a method, a network element, and a system for deleting a user plane tunnel, so as to avoid the problem of waste of resources in the existing solution.

On the one hand, the embodiment of the present application provides a method for deleting a user plane tunnel, which is applied to a communication system, where the communication system includes a control plane network element and a user plane network element, and between the control plane network element and the user plane network element. At least one user plane tunnel. The method includes: the control plane network element determines that at least one user plane tunnel has a target user that meets a preset condition The control plane network element sends a request message to the user plane network element, where the request information is used to indicate that the user plane network element deletes the target user plane tunnel; the user plane network element deletes the target user plane tunnel according to the request information.

In the solution provided by the embodiment of the present application, the control plane network element determines that there is a target user plane tunnel that meets the preset condition in the at least one user plane tunnel, and requests the user plane network element to delete the target user plane tunnel, thereby The scenario in which the user plane is separated provides a technical solution for deleting the user plane tunnel between the control plane network element and the user plane network element, so that the user plane tunnel is deleted when it is not needed, so as to avoid long-term existence of the user plane tunnel, thereby saving resources. .

Optionally, the preset conditions may be different for user plane tunnels of different granularities. The granularity corresponding to the user plane tunnel may be the terminal granularity, the session granularity, the bearer granularity, or the device granularity.

In one possible design, the user plane tunnel corresponds to the terminal granularity. Each of the at least one user plane tunnel is used to transmit data related to one terminal. The target user plane tunnel is used to transmit data related to the target terminal. The preset condition includes one of the following situations: (1) all sessions related to the target terminal need to be deleted; (2) the data related to the target terminal that has been cached in the control plane network element has reached the maximum buffer amount allocated for the target terminal; (3) The data related to the target terminal buffered in the control plane network element has all been sent to the user plane network element; (4) the control plane network element receives an indication of the lawful interception system, and the indication is used to indicate that the monitoring is no longer needed. Target terminal related data.

In another possible design, the user plane tunnel corresponds to the session granularity. Each of the at least one user plane tunnel is used to transmit data related to one session. The target user plane tunnel is used to transmit data related to the target session. The preset condition includes one of the following situations: (1) the target session needs to be deleted; (2) the target session includes at least one session for transmitting data related to the target terminal, and the cached target area in the control plane network element is related to the target terminal. The data has reached the maximum buffer amount allocated for the target terminal; (3) the target session includes at least one session for transmitting data related to the target terminal, and the data related to the target terminal buffered in the control plane network element has all been sent. Providing a user plane network element; (4) the target session includes at least one session for transmitting data related to the target terminal, and the control plane network element receives an indication of the lawful interception system, the indication is used to indicate that the monitoring and the target are no longer needed Terminal related data.

In another possible design, the user plane tunnel corresponds to the bearer granularity. Each of the at least one user plane tunnel is used to transmit data related to one bearer. The target user plane tunnel is used to transmit data related to the target bearer. The preset condition includes one of the following situations: (1) the target bearer is at least one bearer for transmitting data related to the target session, and the target session needs to be deleted; (2) the target bearer is used for transmitting data related to the target terminal. At least one bearer, and the data related to the target terminal that has been cached in the control plane network element has reached the maximum buffer amount allocated for the target terminal; (3) the target bearer is at least one bearer for transmitting data related to the target terminal. And the data related to the target terminal cached in the control plane network element is all sent to the user plane network element; (4) the target bearer is used to transmit at least one bearer of data related to the target terminal, and the control plane network element receives An indication to the lawful interception system that indicates that it is no longer necessary to listen to data associated with the target terminal.

In another possible design, the user plane tunnel corresponds to the device granularity. The at least one user plane tunnel includes a user plane tunnel, and the target user plane tunnel is the user plane tunnel. The target user plane tunnel is used to transmit data related to all terminals served by the control plane network element and the user plane network element. The preset conditions include one of the following situations: (1) all sessions transmitted through this user plane tunnel need to be deleted; (2) the data related to each terminal in all terminals in the control plane network element has been reached for each The maximum amount of buffer allocated by the terminal; (3) the data related to each terminal in all the terminals buffered in the control plane network element has been sent to the user plane network element; (4) the control plane network element receives the indication of the lawful interception system, This indication is used to indicate that it is no longer necessary to listen to data associated with any of all terminals.

The embodiment of the present application is directed to different granularities corresponding to user plane tunnels, and session deletion, data caching, and data transfer. Four different application scenarios, such as sending and legal monitoring, respectively provide corresponding preset conditions to delete user plane tunnels as needed in different application scenarios. The deletion of the user plane tunnel may not be completely determined by the service status between the terminal and the network element of the data network, and may also determine whether to delete the user plane tunnel according to the actual data transmission requirement, when it is determined that there is no data on the tunnel of a certain user plane to be transmitted. The user plane tunnel can be deleted to release the resources occupied by the user plane tunnel to save resources.

In yet another possible design, for data caching scenarios, the maximum amount of buffering may also correspond to user plane tunneling. Correspondingly, the preset condition may be that the data transmitted from the user plane network element to the control plane network element through the target user plane tunnel has reached the maximum buffer amount allocated for the target user plane tunnel. In this case, the granularity corresponding to the user plane tunnel may be device granularity, terminal granularity, session granularity, or bearer granularity.

In a possible design, after the user plane network element deletes the target user plane tunnel, the user plane may also send a response message to the control plane network element, where the response information is used to indicate that the target user plane tunnel has been successfully deleted. Correspondingly, the control plane network element receives the response information from the user plane network element. In the above manner, the control plane network element can confirm whether the target user plane tunnel has been successfully deleted.

In a possible design, before or after the control plane network element sends the request information to the user plane network element, it may also be determined that a new user plane tunnel needs to be created, and a creation request is sent to the user plane network element, the creation request is used to indicate The user plane NE creates a new user plane tunnel. Accordingly, the user plane network element can create a new user plane tunnel according to the creation request. The embodiment of the present application further provides a technical solution for creating a user plane tunnel between a control plane network element and a user plane network element, so that a user plane tunnel is created when required.

On the other hand, the embodiment of the present application provides a control plane network element, and the control plane network element has a function of implementing the behavior of the control plane network element in the foregoing method example. The functions may be implemented by hardware or by corresponding software implemented by hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the functions described above.

In one possible design, the structure of the control plane network element includes a processor and a communication interface configured to support the control plane network element to perform the corresponding functions in the above methods. The communication interface is used to support communication between the control plane network element and the user plane network element or other device. Further, the control plane network element may further include a memory for coupling with the processor, which stores program instructions and data necessary for the control plane network element.

In another aspect, the embodiment of the present application provides a user plane network element, where the user plane network element has a function of implementing user plane network element behavior in the foregoing method example. The functions may be implemented by hardware or by corresponding software implemented by hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the functions described above.

In one possible design, the structure of the user plane network element includes a processor and a communication interface, the processor being configured to support the user plane network element to perform the corresponding function in the above method. The communication interface is used to support communication between the user plane network element and the control plane network element or other device. Further, the user plane network element may further include a memory for coupling with the processor, which stores program instructions and data necessary for the user plane network element.

In a further aspect, the embodiment of the present application provides a communication system, where the system includes the control plane network element and the user plane network element described in the foregoing aspect.

In a further aspect, the embodiment of the present application provides a computer storage medium for storing the computer software instructions used for controlling the surface network element, which includes a program designed to perform the above aspects.

In a further aspect, the embodiment of the present application provides a computer storage medium for storing the computer software instructions used for the user plane network element, which includes a program designed to perform the above aspects.

Compared with the prior art, in the solution of the embodiment of the present application, at least one user plane tunnel is determined by the control plane network element. There is a target user plane tunnel that meets the preset condition, and the user plane element is requested to delete the target user plane tunnel, so that between the control plane and the user plane, the deletion control plane network element and the user plane network element are provided. The technical solution of the user plane tunnel is such that the user plane tunnel is deleted when it is not needed, so as to avoid long-term existence of the user plane tunnel, thereby saving resources.

DRAWINGS

1A is a schematic diagram of a possible application scenario provided by an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 1B is a schematic diagram of a possible network architecture provided by an embodiment of the present application; FIG.

2 is a schematic diagram of communication of a method for deleting a user plane tunnel according to an embodiment of the present application;

3 is a schematic diagram of communication of another method for deleting a user plane tunnel according to an embodiment of the present application;

4 is a schematic diagram of communication of a method for deleting a user plane tunnel according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of communication of a method for deleting a user plane tunnel according to an embodiment of the present application; FIG.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of communication of a method for deleting a user plane tunnel according to an embodiment of the present application; FIG.

7A is a schematic block diagram of a control plane network element according to an embodiment of the present application;

7B is a schematic structural diagram of a control plane network element according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 8A is a schematic block diagram of a user plane network element according to an embodiment of the present application; FIG.

FIG. 8B is a schematic structural diagram of a user plane network element according to an embodiment of the present application.

detailed description

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present application.

The network architecture and the service scenario described in the embodiments of the present application are for the purpose of more clearly illustrating the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, and do not constitute a limitation of the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application. The technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application are equally applicable to similar technical problems.

In the following, some possible application scenarios and network architectures applicable to the embodiments of the present application are introduced in conjunction with FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B.

FIG. 1A illustrates an application scenario that may be applicable to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 1A, the terminal accesses an operator's Internet Protocol (IP) service network through a radio access network and a core network, such as an IP Multimedia System (IMS) network and a packet switched flow service (Packet Switched). Streaming Service, Jane PSS) Network, etc. The technical solution described in this application can be applied to a Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, or other wireless communication systems using various radio access technologies, for example, using Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), and frequency. Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (Single Carrier Frequency) A system of access technologies such as Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA). In addition, it can also be applied to subsequent evolution systems of the LTE system, such as a next-generation network system, that is, a fifth-generation (5th generation, 5G) system. For the sake of clarity, only the LTE system is taken as an example here. In the LTE system, an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) is used as a radio access network, and an Evolved Packet Core (EPC) is used as a core network. The terminal accesses the IMS network through E-UTRAN and EPC.

Based on the foregoing application scenario, FIG. 1B illustrates a possible network architecture provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 1B, the network architecture includes: a control plane network element 110 and a user plane network element 120.

The control plane network element 110 is a network device for implementing the control plane function. For example, the control plane functions include management of radio resources, establishment of a wireless connection, and quality of service (QoS) guarantee of a service. The user plane network element 120 is a network device for implementing a user plane function. The user plane function mainly includes sending and receiving service data.

A control plane network element 110 can control one or more user plane network elements 120. A user plane network element 120 can also be controlled by one or more control plane network elements 110. The control plane network element 110 and the user plane network element 120 have at least one user plane tunnel. The user plane tunnel is used to transmit user plane data, that is, service data. In addition, there is at least one control plane tunnel between the control plane network element 110 and the user plane network element 120. The control plane tunnel is used to transmit control plane signaling.

Optionally, control plane network element 110 and user plane network element 120 are devices in the core network of the communication system. As shown in FIG. 1B, the network architecture further includes: an access network device 130 and a terminal 140.

The access network device 130 may be a base station (BS), which is a device deployed in the radio access network to provide wireless communication functions for the terminal. The base station may include various forms of macro base stations, micro base stations, relay stations, access points, and the like. In systems using different radio access technologies, the names of devices with base station functions may be different, for example, in an LTE system, called an evolved NodeB (eNB or eNodeB), in a 3G communication system. Medium, called Node B (Node B) and so on. For convenience of description, in the embodiment of the present application, the foregoing apparatus for providing a wireless communication function to a terminal is collectively referred to as an access network device.

The terminal 140 may include various handheld devices having infinite communication functions, in-vehicle devices, wearable devices, computing devices, or other processing devices connected to the wireless modem, and various forms of User Equipment (UE), mobile stations ( Mobile Station, MS), terminal device, etc. For convenience of description, the devices mentioned above are collectively referred to as terminals.

The access network device 130 and the terminal 140 communicate with each other through some air interface technology, for example, can communicate with each other through cellular technology. In addition, the access network device 130 and the control plane network element 110 and the user plane network element 120 can also communicate with each other through the air interface technology, and the terminal 140 and the control plane network element 110 can also communicate with each other through the air interface technology. The user plane network element 120 can also access a data network, such as a Public Data Network (PDN).

In the embodiments of the present application, the terms "network" and "system" are often used interchangeably, but those skilled in the art can understand the meaning thereof. In the embodiment of the present application, the control plane network element 110 and the user plane network element 120 may have various possible implementation forms. For example, in the LTE system, the control plane network element 110 may be: SGW-C, PGW-C, control plane network element of Traffic Detection Function (TDF) entity, SGW/PGW-C; user plane network element 120 may be: SGW-U, PGW-U, user plane network element of the TDF entity, SGW/PGW-U, wherein the control plane network element and the user plane network element of the TDF entity may be respectively described as TDF-C and TDF- U. For example, in the next generation network, the control plane network element 110 may be a control plane network element of Next Generation (NG), and the user plane network element 120 may be a user plane network element of the next generation network, where The control plane network element and user plane network element of the first generation network can be described as NG-CP and NG-UP, respectively. It should be noted that when the solution of the embodiment of the present application is applied to a 5G system or other systems that may appear in the future, the names of the control plane network element, the user plane network element, the access network device, and the terminal may change, but The implementation of the solution of the embodiment of the present application is not affected.

At present, in the scenario where the control plane and the user plane are separated, the user plane tunnel between the control plane network element and the user plane network element is It is also retained without data transmission, resulting in waste of resources. In view of this, the embodiment of the present application provides a method for deleting a user plane tunnel, and a control plane network element, a user plane network element, and a system based on the method. The method is applied to a communication system, where the communication system includes a control plane network. The element and the user plane network element have at least one user plane tunnel between the control plane network element and the user plane network element. The core idea of the technical solution provided by the embodiment of the present application is to set a preset condition for triggering deletion of a user plane tunnel. When a user plane tunnel meets the preset condition, the user plane tunnel is deleted.

The embodiments of the present application are further described in detail below based on the common aspects related to the embodiments of the present application.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of communication of a method for deleting a user plane tunnel according to an embodiment of the present application. The method can include the following parts.

In section 201, the control plane network element determines that there is a target user plane tunnel in the at least one user plane tunnel that meets the preset condition.

Specifically, the control plane network element and the user plane network element have at least one user plane tunnel. The number of user plane tunnels between the control plane network element and the user plane network element may be different for different granularities corresponding to the user plane tunnel. For example, when the user plane tunnel corresponds to the device granularity, the control plane network element and the user plane network element have a user plane tunnel. For example, when the user plane tunnel corresponds to the terminal granularity, the control plane network element and the user plane network element have at least one user plane tunnel, and each of the at least one user plane tunnel is used for transmission and is associated with one terminal. The data. For example, when the user plane tunnel corresponds to the session granularity, the control plane network element and the user plane network element have at least one user plane tunnel, and each user plane tunnel in the at least one user plane tunnel is used for transmission and is associated with one session. The data. For example, when the user plane tunnel corresponds to the bearer granularity, the control plane network element and the user plane network element have at least one user plane tunnel, and each user plane tunnel in the at least one user plane tunnel is used to transmit and be associated with one bearer. The data.

The following describes the session, bearer, preset condition, target user plane tunnel, and the like involved in the above.

A session can refer to a communication interaction between two devices during a specific uninterrupted operation time. During a session, all messages transmitted between the two devices belong to the session. In the embodiment of the present application, a session refers to a communication interaction between a terminal and a network element in a data network for transmitting service data. Data associated with a terminal can be transmitted through at least one session.

A bearer can refer to a data path used to transmit wireless service data. The bearer involved in the embodiment of the present application may also be referred to as a radio bearer, and refers to a data path between a terminal and a network element in a data network for transmitting service data. Data associated with one terminal can be transmitted over at least one session, and data associated with one session can be transmitted over at least one bearer.

The preset condition may refer to a predetermined determination condition for determining whether the user plane tunnel needs to be deleted. The preset conditions are different in different application scenarios. In addition, the preset conditions are different for user plane tunnels of different granularities. See below for a detailed description of the preset conditions.

The target user plane tunnel may be any one or more user plane tunnels in the at least one user plane tunnel.

In section 202, the control plane network element sends request information to the user plane network element, where the request information is used to indicate that the user plane network element deletes the target user plane tunnel.

Correspondingly, the user plane network element receives the request information from the control plane network element.

In an example, the request information may carry at least one of the following: the indication information for deleting the user plane tunnel, the identifier of the target user plane tunnel, the packet forwarding rule corresponding to the target user plane tunnel, or the target user plane tunnel pair. The appropriate message matching rules.

In a possible implementation manner, the request information carries an identifier of the target user plane tunnel to notify the user of the target user plane tunnel that the network element needs to delete. For example, when the granularity of the user plane tunnel is the terminal granularity, the session granularity, or the bearer granularity, multiple user plane tunnels can be established between the control plane network element and the user plane network element, so the request information carries the indication information. In addition, the target user plane tunnel that needs to be deleted needs to be identified in the request information. For example, when the granularity of the user plane tunnel is the device granularity, since there is only one user plane tunnel between the control plane network element and the user plane network element, the request information only carries the foregoing indication information, and may not be in the The identifier of the user plane tunnel is carried in the request information.

In a possible implementation manner, the request information carries a packet forwarding rule and/or a packet matching rule corresponding to the target user plane tunnel, so that the user plane network element can delete the packet forwarding corresponding to the target user plane tunnel. Rules and/or message matching rules and other contextual information.

In section 203, the user plane network element deletes the target user plane tunnel according to the request information.

Specifically, after receiving the request information, the user plane network element may determine the target user plane tunnel that needs to be deleted, and then delete the target user plane tunnel. For example, the user plane network element deletes the target user plane tunnel in the following manner: releasing resources occupied by the target user plane tunnel, deleting context information corresponding to the target user plane tunnel, and the like.

In an example, after deleting the target user plane tunnel, the user plane network element may send response information to the control plane network element, where the response information is used to indicate that the target user plane tunnel has been successfully deleted. Correspondingly, after receiving the response information from the user plane network element, the control plane network element can confirm that the target user plane tunnel has been deleted.

It should be noted that, as described above, the control plane network element and the user plane network element may have at least one control plane tunnel in addition to at least one user plane tunnel. The control plane and the user plane network element can send and receive request information and response information through the control plane tunnel.

In the solution provided by the embodiment of the present application, the control plane network element determines that there is a target user plane tunnel that meets the preset condition in the at least one user plane tunnel, and requests the user plane network element to delete the target user plane tunnel, thereby A scenario in which the user plane is separated provides a technical solution for deleting the user plane tunnel between the control plane network element and the user plane network element, so that the user plane tunnel can be deleted when it is not needed, so as to avoid long-term existence of the user plane tunnel, thereby saving Resources.

The preset conditions involved in the embodiments of the present application are further described below for different granularities corresponding to the user plane tunnel.

1. User plane tunnel corresponding terminal granularity

When the user plane tunnel corresponds to the terminal granularity, each user plane tunnel in the at least one user plane tunnel between the control plane network element and the user plane network element is used to transmit data related to one terminal. The target user plane tunnel is used to transmit data related to the target terminal, and the target terminal is any one of all terminals that the control plane network element and the user plane network element jointly serve. Preset conditions can include one of the following:

(a) All sessions related to the target terminal need to be deleted.

In this case, the user plane tunnel can be deleted in the session deletion scenario.

The number of sessions associated with the target terminal may be one or more. These sessions associated with the target terminal are used to transmit data related to the target terminal. For example, the data related to the target terminal includes: uplink service data sent by the target terminal to the network element in the data network, and downlink service data sent by the network element in the data network to the target terminal. When the user plane tunnel corresponds to the terminal granularity, if the target terminal corresponds to the target user plane tunnel, the data of all sessions related to the target terminal is transmitted on the target user plane tunnel. When all sessions related to the target terminal need to be deleted, The data related to the target terminal needs to be transmitted through the target user plane tunnel. At this time, the target user plane tunnel is deleted.

In an example, it is assumed that there are three user plane tunnels between the control plane network element and the user plane network element, namely user plane tunnel 1, user plane tunnel 2, and user plane tunnel 3. The user plane tunnel 1 is used to transmit data related to the terminal 1, the user plane tunnel 2 is used to transmit data related to the terminal 2, and the user plane tunnel 3 is used to transmit data related to the terminal 3. Taking the terminal 1 as an example, it is assumed that two sessions are established between the terminal 1 and the network element in the data network. When all the two sessions need to be deleted, the control plane network element determines to delete the user plane tunnel 1 corresponding to the terminal 1, and controls The surface network element sends the request information carrying the identifier of the user plane tunnel 1 to the user plane network element, and the user plane network element deletes the user plane tunnel 1 after receiving the request information.

In addition, the reason that all the sessions related to the target terminal need to be deleted may include one of the following situations: a service interruption between the target terminal and the network element in the data network; a target terminal detachment process; and the target terminal attachment process finds the target terminal due to The previously unreasonable detachment results in an active context in the control plane network element; the target terminal update location is rejected in the tracking area update or routing area update procedure, and so on.

(b) The cached data associated with the target terminal in the control plane network element has reached the maximum amount of buffer allocated for the target terminal.

In this case, the user plane tunnel can be deleted in the data cache scenario.

Specifically, when the target terminal is in an idle state, after receiving the data related to the target terminal (for example, downlink service data sent by the network element in the data network to the target terminal), the user plane network element passes through the target user plane tunnel. The data related to the target terminal is forwarded to the control plane network element, and the data is buffered by the control plane network element. Subsequently, when the target terminal recovers from the idle state to the connected state, the control plane network element sends the cached data related to the target terminal to the user plane network element, and the user plane network element sends the data to the target terminal.

The control plane network element is configured with the maximum amount of buffer allocated for each terminal. The maximum buffer size corresponding to each terminal may be allocated by the control plane network element, or may be allocated and notified to the control plane network element by other devices. For example, when the control plane network element is SGW-C, the maximum buffer amount corresponding to each terminal may be allocated and notified to the SGW-C by the Mobility Management Entity (MME). The maximum amount of buffer allocated to the target terminal refers to the maximum amount of data related to the target terminal that can be cached by the control plane network element. The maximum amount of buffers allocated for the different terminals may be the same or different, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application. Optionally, the maximum buffer amount is a downlink buffering suggested count. Taking the target terminal as an example, when the data related to the target terminal that has been cached in the control plane network element has reached the maximum buffer amount allocated for the target terminal, the control plane network element cannot continue to store data related to the target terminal. The user plane network element can forward the data related to the target terminal to the control plane network element for caching through the target user plane tunnel, and the target user plane tunnel can be deleted.

In an example, it is assumed that there are three user plane tunnels between the control plane network element and the user plane network element, namely user plane tunnel 1, user plane tunnel 2, and user plane tunnel 3. The user plane tunnel 1 is used to transmit data related to the terminal 1, the user plane tunnel 2 is used to transmit data related to the terminal 2, and the user plane tunnel 3 is used to transmit data related to the terminal 3. Taking terminal 1 as an example, it is assumed that the maximum buffer amount allocated for terminal 1 is a. When the terminal 1 is in the idle state, after receiving the data related to the terminal 1, the user plane network element forwards the data related to the terminal 1 to the control plane network element through the user plane tunnel 1, and caches the data by the control plane network element. . When the data related to the terminal 1 in the control plane network element reaches the maximum buffer amount a, the control plane network element determines to delete the user plane tunnel 1 corresponding to the terminal 1, and the control plane network element sends the carried user to the user plane network element. Request information of the identifier of the tunnel 1 after the user plane network element receives the request information Delete user plane tunnel 1.

For example, in the case of deleting a user plane tunnel in a data cache scenario, the control plane network element is SGW-C and the user plane network element is SGW-U, or the control plane network element involved is SGW/PGW-C. The user plane network element is SGW/PGW-U, or the control plane network element is NG-CP and the user plane network element is NG-UP.

(c) The data related to the target terminal buffered in the control plane network element has all been sent to the user plane network element.

In this case, the user plane tunnel can be deleted in the data forwarding scenario.

As described above, when the target terminal is in the idle state, after receiving the data related to the target terminal, the user plane network element forwards the data related to the target terminal to the control plane network element through the target user plane tunnel, and controls The face network element caches this data. Subsequently, when the target terminal recovers from the idle state to the connected state, the control plane network element sends the cached data related to the target terminal to the user plane network element, and the user plane network element sends the data to the target terminal.

Taking the target terminal as an example, when all the data related to the target terminal cached in the control plane network element has been sent to the user plane network element, the data related to the target terminal in the control plane network element needs to be transmitted through the target user plane tunnel. At this time, the target user plane tunnel can be deleted.

In an example, it is assumed that there are three user plane tunnels between the control plane network element and the user plane network element, namely user plane tunnel 1, user plane tunnel 2, and user plane tunnel 3. The user plane tunnel 1 is used to transmit data related to the terminal 1, the user plane tunnel 2 is used to transmit data related to the terminal 2, and the user plane tunnel 3 is used to transmit data related to the terminal 3. Taking the terminal 1 as an example, when the terminal 1 is restored from the idle state to the connected state, the control plane network element sends the cached data related to the terminal 1 to the user plane network element through the user plane tunnel 1, and the user plane network element moves to the terminal. 1 Send these data. When the data related to the terminal 1 cached in the control plane network element is all sent to the user plane network element, the control plane network element determines to delete the user plane tunnel 1 corresponding to the terminal 1, and the control plane network element sends the bearer to the user plane network element. The request information of the identifier of the user plane tunnel 1 is deleted, and the user plane network element deletes the user plane tunnel 1 after receiving the request information.

For example, in the case of deleting a user plane tunnel in a data forwarding scenario, the control plane network element is SGW-C and the user plane network element is SGW-U, or the control plane network element involved is SGW/PGW-C. The user plane network element is SGW/PGW-U, or the control plane network element is NG-CP and the user plane network element is NG-UP.

(d) The control plane network element receives an indication of the lawful interception system, the indication is used to indicate that it is no longer necessary to monitor data related to the target terminal.

In this case, the user plane tunnel can be deleted in the legal listening scenario.

In the lawful interception scenario, if the lawful interception system needs to monitor the data related to the target terminal, the user plane network element sends the data related to the target terminal to the control through the target user plane tunnel after receiving the data related to the target terminal. The face network element forwards the data to the lawful interception system by the control plane network element. The data sent by the user plane network element to the control plane network element may be a copy of the data generated by the user plane network element, and may also include other data type information. The data forwarded by the control plane network element to the lawful interception system may be data or other information processed by the control plane network element.

If the lawful interception system no longer needs to monitor data related to the target terminal, the lawful interception system may send a lawful interception deactivation message to the control plane network element, and the lawful interception deactivation message is used to indicate to deactivate the lawful interception associated with the target terminal. The function, the subsequent user plane network element does not need to send the data related to the target terminal to the control plane network element and then forward it to the lawful interception system. At this time, the target user plane tunnel can be deleted.

In an example, it is assumed that there are three user plane tunnels between the control plane network element and the user plane network element, namely user plane tunnel 1, user plane tunnel 2, and user plane tunnel 3. The user plane tunnel 1 is used for transmitting data related to the terminal 1, the user plane tunnel 2 is used for transmitting data related to the terminal 2, and the user plane tunnel 3 is used for transmitting the terminal 3 related to the terminal 3. data. Taking the terminal 1 as an example, after the lawful interception system activates the lawful interception function associated with the terminal 1, the user plane network element sends the data related to the terminal 1 to the control plane network element through the user plane tunnel 1, and the control plane network element This data is forwarded to the lawful interception system. After receiving the lawful interception deactivation message sent by the lawful interception system for instructing to deactivate the lawful interception function associated with the terminal 1, the control plane network element determines to delete the user plane tunnel 1 corresponding to the terminal 1, and the control plane network element to the user The surface network element sends the request information carrying the identifier of the user plane tunnel 1, and the user plane network element deletes the user plane tunnel 1 after receiving the request information.

For example, in the case of deleting a user plane tunnel in a lawful interception scenario, the control plane network element is SGW-C and the user plane network element is SGW-U, or the control plane network element involved is PGW-C and the user The face network element is PGW-U, or the control plane network element is SGW/PGW-C and the user plane network element is SGW/PGW-U, or the control plane network element involved is NG-CP and the user plane network element is NG-UP.

It should be noted that when the user plane tunnel corresponds to the terminal granularity, one terminal may correspond to one user plane tunnel. In this case, the target user plane tunnel corresponding to the target terminal is a user plane tunnel; or, a terminal also There may be at least two user plane tunnels, and in this case, the target user plane tunnel corresponding to the target terminal may include at least two user plane tunnels.

2. User plane tunnel corresponding session granularity

When the user plane tunnel corresponds to the session granularity, each user plane tunnel in the at least one user plane tunnel between the control plane network element and the user plane network element is used to transmit data related to one session. The target user plane tunnel is used to transmit data related to the target session. Preset conditions can include one of the following:

(a) The target session needs to be deleted.

In this case, the user plane tunnel can be deleted in the session deletion scenario.

When the user plane tunnel corresponds to the session granularity, it is assumed that the target session corresponds to the target user plane tunnel, and the data related to the target session is transmitted on the target user plane tunnel. When the target session needs to be deleted, it indicates that the data related to the target session needs to be transmitted through the target user plane tunnel, and the target user plane tunnel is triggered to be deleted.

In an example, it is assumed that there are three user plane tunnels between the control plane network element and the user plane network element, namely user plane tunnel 1, user plane tunnel 2, and user plane tunnel 3. The user plane tunnel 1 is used to transmit data related to the session 1, the user plane tunnel 2 is used to transmit data related to the session 2, and the user plane tunnel 3 is used to transmit data related to the session 3. Taking session 1 as an example, when session 1 needs to be deleted, the control plane network element determines to delete the user plane tunnel 1 corresponding to session 1, and the control plane network element sends the request information carrying the identifier of the user plane tunnel 1 to the user plane network element. The user plane network element deletes the user plane tunnel 1 after receiving the request information.

In addition, the reason that the target session needs to be deleted may include one of the following situations: a service interruption between the target terminal and the network element in the data network; a target terminal detachment process; and the target terminal attachment process finds that the target terminal is unreasonable before. Attachment causes the active network context in the control plane network element; the target terminal update location is rejected in the tracking area update or routing area update process, the target terminal or network initiated session deletion process, and the like. The target session is a session between the target terminal and the network element of the data network.

(b) The target session includes at least one session for transmitting data related to the target terminal, and the data associated with the target terminal that has been cached in the control plane network element has reached the maximum amount of buffer allocated for the target terminal.

In this case, the user plane tunnel can be deleted in the data cache scenario.

Specifically, when the target terminal is in an idle state, after receiving the data related to the target terminal (for example, downlink service data sent by the network element in the data network to the target terminal), the user plane network element passes through the target user plane tunnel. Head The data related to the target terminal is forwarded to the control plane network element, and the data is buffered by the control plane network element. Subsequently, when the target terminal recovers from the idle state to the connected state, the control plane network element sends the cached data related to the target terminal to the user plane network element, and the user plane network element sends the data to the target terminal.

The control plane network element is configured with the maximum amount of buffer allocated for each terminal. The maximum buffer size corresponding to each terminal may be allocated by the control plane network element, or may be allocated and notified to the control plane network element by other devices. For example, when the control plane network element is SGW-C, the maximum buffer amount corresponding to each terminal may be allocated by the MME and notified to the SGW-C. The maximum amount of buffer allocated to the target terminal refers to the maximum amount of data related to the target terminal that can be cached by the control plane network element. The maximum amount of buffers allocated for the different terminals may be the same or different, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application. Optionally, the maximum buffer amount is a downlink buffering suggested count. Taking the target terminal as an example, when the data related to the target terminal that has been cached in the control plane network element has reached the maximum buffer amount allocated for the target terminal, the control plane network element cannot continue to store data related to the target terminal. The user plane network element can forward the data related to the target terminal to the control plane network element for caching through the target user plane tunnel, and the target user plane tunnel can be deleted.

In an example, it is assumed that there are five user plane tunnels between the control plane network element and the user plane network element, namely user plane tunnel 1, user plane tunnel 2, user plane tunnel 3, user plane tunnel 4, and user plane tunnel 5 . The user plane tunnel 1 is used to transmit data related to the session 1, the user plane tunnel 2 is used to transmit data related to the session 2, and the user plane tunnel 3 is used to transmit data related to the session 3, and the user plane tunnel 4 is used for The data associated with session 4 is transmitted, and user plane tunnel 5 is used to transmit data related to session 5. Assume that Session 1, Session 2, and Session 3 are used to transmit data associated with Terminal 1, and Session 4 and Session 5 are used to transmit data associated with Terminal 2. Taking terminal 1 as an example, it is assumed that the maximum buffer amount allocated for terminal 1 is a. When the terminal 1 is in the idle state, after receiving the data related to the terminal 1, the user plane network element forwards the data related to the terminal 1 through one or more user plane tunnels in the user plane tunnels 1, 2, and 3. The control plane network element caches the data by the control plane network element. When the data associated with the terminal 1 in the control plane network element reaches the maximum buffer amount a, the control plane network element determines to delete the user plane tunnels 1, 2, and 3 corresponding to the terminal 1, and the control plane network element to the user plane network element. The request information carrying the identifiers of the user plane tunnels 1, 2, and 3 is sent, and the user plane network element deletes the user plane tunnels 1, 2, and 3 after receiving the request information.

For example, in the case of deleting a user plane tunnel in a data cache scenario, the control plane network element is SGW-C and the user plane network element is SGW-U, or the control plane network element involved is SGW/PGW-C. The user plane network element is SGW/PGW-U, or the control plane network element is NG-CP and the user plane network element is NG-UP.

(c) The target session includes at least one session for transmitting data related to the target terminal, and the data related to the target terminal buffered in the control plane network element has all been sent to the user plane network element.

In this case, the user plane tunnel can be deleted in the data forwarding scenario.

As described above, when the target terminal is in the idle state, after receiving the data related to the target terminal, the user plane network element forwards the data related to the target terminal to the control plane network element through the target user plane tunnel, and controls The face network element caches this data. Subsequently, when the target terminal recovers from the idle state to the connected state, the control plane network element sends the cached data related to the target terminal to the user plane network element, and the user plane network element sends the data to the target terminal.

Taking the target terminal as an example, when all the data related to the target terminal cached in the control plane network element has been sent to the user plane network element, the data related to the target terminal in the control plane network element needs to be transmitted through the target user plane tunnel. At this time, the target user plane tunnel can be deleted.

In an example, it is assumed that there are five user plane tunnels between the control plane network element and the user plane network element, namely user plane tunnel 1, user plane tunnel 2, user plane tunnel 3, user plane tunnel 4, and user plane tunnel 5 . User plane tunnel Channel 1 is used to transmit data related to session 1, user plane tunnel 2 is used to transmit data related to session 2, user plane tunnel 3 is used to transmit data related to session 3, and user plane tunnel 4 is used for transmission and session 4. Related data, user plane tunnel 5 is used to transmit data related to session 5. Assume that Session 1, Session 2, and Session 3 are used to transmit data associated with Terminal 1, and Session 4 and Session 5 are used to transmit data associated with Terminal 2. Taking the terminal 1 as an example, when the terminal 1 recovers from the idle state to the connected state, the control plane network element sends the buffered data related to the terminal 1 through one or more user plane tunnels in the user plane tunnels 1, 2, and 3. The user plane network element is sent by the user plane network element to the terminal 1. When the data related to the terminal 1 cached in the control plane network element is all sent to the user plane network element, the control plane network element determines to delete the user plane tunnels 1, 2, and 3 corresponding to the terminal 1, and the control plane network element faces the user. The network element sends request information carrying the identifiers of the user plane tunnels 1, 2, and 3, and the user plane network element deletes the user plane tunnels 1, 2, and 3 after receiving the request information.

For example, in the case of deleting a user plane tunnel in a data forwarding scenario, the control plane network element is SGW-C and the user plane network element is SGW-U, or the control plane network element involved is SGW/PGW-C. The user plane network element is SGW/PGW-U, or the control plane network element is NG-CP and the user plane network element is NG-UP.

(d) The target session includes at least one session for transmitting data related to the target terminal, and the control plane network element receives an indication of the lawful interception system, the indication being used to indicate that the data associated with the target terminal is no longer needed to be monitored.

In this case, the user plane tunnel can be deleted in the legal listening scenario.

In the lawful interception scenario, if the lawful interception system needs to monitor the data related to the target terminal, the user plane network element sends the data related to the target terminal to the control through the target user plane tunnel after receiving the data related to the target terminal. The face network element forwards the data to the lawful interception system by the control plane network element. The data sent by the user plane network element to the control plane network element may be a copy of the data generated by the user plane network element, and may also include other data type information. The data forwarded by the control plane network element to the lawful interception system may be data or other information processed by the control plane network element.

If the lawful interception system no longer needs to monitor data related to the target terminal, the lawful interception system may send a lawful interception deactivation message to the control plane network element, and the lawful interception deactivation message is used to indicate to deactivate the lawful interception associated with the target terminal. The function, the subsequent user plane network element does not need to send the data related to the target terminal to the control plane network element and then forward it to the lawful interception system. At this time, the target user plane tunnel can be deleted.

In an example, it is assumed that there are five user plane tunnels between the control plane network element and the user plane network element, namely user plane tunnel 1, user plane tunnel 2, user plane tunnel 3, user plane tunnel 4, and user plane tunnel 5 . The user plane tunnel 1 is used to transmit data related to the session 1, the user plane tunnel 2 is used to transmit data related to the session 2, and the user plane tunnel 3 is used to transmit data related to the session 3, and the user plane tunnel 4 is used for The data associated with session 4 is transmitted, and user plane tunnel 5 is used to transmit data related to session 5. Assume that Session 1, Session 2, and Session 3 are used to transmit data associated with Terminal 1, and Session 4 and Session 5 are used to transmit data associated with Terminal 2. Taking the terminal 1 as an example, after the lawful interception system activates the lawful interception function associated with the terminal 1, the user plane network element compares the data related to the terminal 1 through one or more user plane tunnels in the user plane tunnels 1, 2, and 3. The data is sent to the control plane network element, and the control plane network element forwards the data to the legal listening system. After receiving the lawful interception deactivation message sent by the lawful interception system for instructing to deactivate the lawful interception function associated with the terminal 1, the control plane network element determines to delete the user plane tunnels 1, 2, and 3 corresponding to the terminal 1, the control plane. The network element sends the request information carrying the identifiers of the user plane tunnels 1, 2, and 3 to the user plane network element, and the user plane network element deletes the user plane tunnels 1, 2, and 3 after receiving the request information.

For example, in the case of deleting a user plane tunnel in a lawful interception scenario, the control plane network element is SGW-C and the user plane network element is SGW-U, or the control plane network element involved is PGW-C and the user The surface network element is PGW-U, or the control plane network element is SGW/PGW-C and the user plane network element is SGW/PGW-U, or the control plane network element involved. It is NG-CP and the user plane network element is NG-UP.

3. User plane tunnel corresponding bearer granularity

When the user plane tunnel corresponds to the bearer granularity, each user plane tunnel in the at least one user plane tunnel between the control plane network element and the user plane network element is used to transmit data related to one bearer. The target user plane tunnel is used to transmit data related to the target bearer. Preset conditions include one of the following:

(a) The target bearer is at least one bearer for transmitting data related to the target session, and the target session needs to be deleted.

In this case, the user plane tunnel can be deleted in the session deletion scenario.

When the target session needs to be deleted, it indicates that the data related to the target session needs to be transmitted through the target user plane tunnel, and the target user plane tunnel is triggered to be deleted.

In an example, it is assumed that there are three user plane tunnels between the control plane network element and the user plane network element, namely user plane tunnel 1, user plane tunnel 2, and user plane tunnel 3. The user plane tunnel 1 is used for transmitting data related to the bearer 1, the user plane tunnel 2 is used for transmitting data related to the bearer 2, and the user plane tunnel 3 is used for transmitting data related to the bearer 3. It is assumed that bearer 1 and bearer 2 are used to transmit data related to session 1, and bearer 3 is used to transmit data related to session 2. Taking session 1 as an example, when session 1 needs to be deleted, the control plane network element determines to delete the user plane tunnels 1 and 2 corresponding to session 1, and the control plane network element sends the identifier carrying the user plane tunnels 1 and 2 to the user plane network element. Request information, the user plane network element deletes the user plane tunnels 1 and 2 after receiving the request information.

In addition, the reason that the target session needs to be deleted may include one of the following situations: a service interruption between the target terminal and the network element in the data network; a target terminal detachment process; and the attachment process finds that the target terminal is unreasonably de-attached due to previous reasons. There is still an active context in the control plane network element; the target terminal update location is rejected in the tracking area update or routing area update process, the target terminal or network initiated session deletion process, and the like. The target session is a session between the target terminal and the network element of the data network.

(b) The target bearer is at least one bearer for transmitting data related to the target terminal, and the data related to the target terminal that has been cached in the control plane network element has reached the maximum buffer amount allocated for the target terminal.

In this case, the user plane tunnel can be deleted in the data cache scenario.

When the target terminal is in the idle state, after receiving the data related to the target terminal (for example, the downlink service data sent by the network element in the data network to the target terminal), the user plane network element is related to the target terminal through the target user plane tunnel. The data is forwarded to the control plane network element, and the data is buffered by the control plane network element. Subsequently, when the target terminal recovers from the idle state to the connected state, the control plane network element sends the cached data related to the target terminal to the user plane network element, and the user plane network element sends the data to the target terminal.

The control plane network element is configured with the maximum amount of buffer allocated for each terminal. The maximum buffer size corresponding to each terminal may be allocated by the control plane network element, or may be allocated and notified to the control plane network element by other devices. For example, when the control plane network element is SGW-C, the maximum buffer amount corresponding to each terminal may be allocated by the MME and notified to the SGW-C. The maximum amount of buffer allocated to the target terminal refers to the maximum amount of data related to the target terminal that can be cached by the control plane network element. The maximum amount of buffers allocated for the different terminals may be the same or different, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application. Optionally, the maximum buffer amount is a downlink buffering suggested count. Taking the target terminal as an example, when the data related to the target terminal that has been cached in the control plane network element has reached the maximum buffer amount allocated for the target terminal, the control plane network element cannot continue to store data related to the target terminal. The user plane network element can forward the data related to the target terminal to the control plane network element for caching through the target user plane tunnel, and the target user plane tunnel can be deleted.

In an example, it is assumed that there are five user plane tunnels between the control plane network element and the user plane network element, namely user plane tunnel 1, user plane tunnel 2, user plane tunnel 3, user plane tunnel 4, and user plane tunnel 5 . The user plane tunnel 1 is used for transmitting data related to the bearer 1 , the user plane tunnel 2 is used for transmitting data related to the bearer 2, and the user plane tunnel 3 is used for transmitting data related to the bearer 3, and the user plane tunnel 4 is used for The data associated with the bearer 4 is transmitted, and the user plane tunnel 5 is used to transmit data related to the bearer 5. It is assumed that bearer 1, bearer 2 and bearer 3 are used for transmitting data related to terminal 1, and bearer 4 and bearer 5 are used for transmitting data related to terminal 2. Taking terminal 1 as an example, it is assumed that the maximum buffer amount allocated for terminal 1 is a. When the terminal 1 is in the idle state, after receiving the data related to the terminal 1, the user plane network element forwards the data related to the terminal 1 through one or more user plane tunnels in the user plane tunnels 1, 2, and 3. The control plane network element caches the data by the control plane network element. When the data associated with the terminal 1 in the control plane network element reaches the maximum buffer amount a, the control plane network element determines to delete the user plane tunnels 1, 2, and 3 corresponding to the terminal 1, and the control plane network element to the user plane network element. The request information carrying the identifiers of the user plane tunnels 1, 2, and 3 is sent, and the user plane network element deletes the user plane tunnels 1, 2, and 3 after receiving the request information.

For example, in the case of deleting a user plane tunnel in a data cache scenario, the control plane network element is SGW-C and the user plane network element is SGW-U, or the control plane network element involved is SGW/PGW-C. The user plane network element is SGW/PGW-U, or the control plane network element is NG-CP and the user plane network element is NG-UP.

(c) The target bearer is at least one bearer for transmitting data related to the target terminal, and the data related to the target terminal buffered in the control plane network element is all sent to the user plane network element.

In this case, the user plane tunnel can be deleted in the data forwarding scenario.

As described above, when the target terminal is in the idle state, after receiving the data related to the target terminal, the user plane network element forwards the data related to the target terminal to the control plane network element through the target user plane tunnel, and controls The face network element caches this data. Subsequently, when the target terminal recovers from the idle state to the connected state, the control plane network element sends the cached data related to the target terminal to the user plane network element, and the user plane network element sends the data to the target terminal.

Taking the target terminal as an example, when all the data related to the target terminal cached in the control plane network element has been sent to the user plane network element, the data related to the target terminal in the control plane network element needs to be transmitted through the target user plane tunnel. At this time, the target user plane tunnel can be deleted.

In an example, it is assumed that there are five user plane tunnels between the control plane network element and the user plane network element, namely user plane tunnel 1, user plane tunnel 2, user plane tunnel 3, user plane tunnel 4, and user plane tunnel 5 . The user plane tunnel 1 is used for transmitting data related to the bearer 1 , the user plane tunnel 2 is used for transmitting data related to the bearer 2, and the user plane tunnel 3 is used for transmitting data related to the bearer 3, and the user plane tunnel 4 is used for The data associated with the bearer 4 is transmitted, and the user plane tunnel 5 is used to transmit data related to the bearer 5. It is assumed that bearer 1, bearer 2 and bearer 3 are used for transmitting data related to terminal 1, and bearer 4 and bearer 5 are used for transmitting data related to terminal 2. Taking the terminal 1 as an example, when the terminal 1 recovers from the idle state to the connected state, the control plane network element sends the buffered data related to the terminal 1 through one or more user plane tunnels in the user plane tunnels 1, 2, and 3. The user plane network element is sent by the user plane network element to the terminal 1. When the data related to the terminal 1 cached in the control plane network element is all sent to the user plane network element, the control plane network element determines to delete the user plane tunnels 1, 2, and 3 corresponding to the terminal 1, and the control plane network element faces the user. The network element sends request information carrying the identifiers of the user plane tunnels 1, 2, and 3, and the user plane network element deletes the user plane tunnels 1, 2, and 3 after receiving the request information.

For example, in the case of deleting a user plane tunnel in a data forwarding scenario, the control plane network element is SGW-C and the user plane network element is SGW-U, or the control plane network element involved is SGW/PGW-C. The user plane network element is SGW/PGW-U, or the control plane network element is NG-CP and the user plane network element is NG-UP.

(d) The target bearer is at least one bearer for transmitting data related to the target terminal, and the control plane network element receives an indication of the lawful interception system, the indication is used to indicate that the data related to the target terminal is no longer needed to be monitored.

In this case, the user plane tunnel can be deleted in the legal listening scenario.

In the lawful interception scenario, if the lawful interception system needs to monitor the data related to the target terminal, the user plane network element sends the data related to the target terminal to the control through the target user plane tunnel after receiving the data related to the target terminal. The face network element forwards the data to the lawful interception system by the control plane network element. The data sent by the user plane network element to the control plane network element may be a copy of the data generated by the user plane network element, and may also include other data type information. The data forwarded by the control plane network element to the lawful interception system may be data or other information processed by the control plane network element.

If the lawful interception system no longer needs to monitor data related to the target terminal, the lawful interception system may send a lawful interception deactivation message to the control plane network element, and the lawful interception deactivation message is used to indicate to deactivate the lawful interception associated with the target terminal. The function, the subsequent user plane network element does not need to send the data related to the target terminal to the control plane network element and then forward it to the lawful interception system. At this time, the target user plane tunnel can be deleted.

In an example, it is assumed that there are five user plane tunnels between the control plane network element and the user plane network element, namely user plane tunnel 1, user plane tunnel 2, user plane tunnel 3, user plane tunnel 4, and user plane tunnel 5 . The user plane tunnel 1 is used for transmitting data related to the bearer 1 , the user plane tunnel 2 is used for transmitting data related to the bearer 2, and the user plane tunnel 3 is used for transmitting data related to the bearer 3, and the user plane tunnel 4 is used for The data associated with the bearer 4 is transmitted, and the user plane tunnel 5 is used to transmit data related to the bearer 5. It is assumed that bearer 1, bearer 2 and bearer 3 are used for transmitting data related to terminal 1, and bearer 4 and bearer 5 are used for transmitting data related to terminal 2. Taking the terminal 1 as an example, after the lawful interception system activates the lawful interception function associated with the terminal 1, the user plane network element compares the data related to the terminal 1 through one or more user plane tunnels in the user plane tunnels 1, 2, and 3. The data is sent to the control plane network element, and the control plane network element forwards the data to the legal listening system. After receiving the lawful interception deactivation message sent by the lawful interception system for instructing to deactivate the lawful interception function associated with the terminal 1, the control plane network element determines to delete the user plane tunnels 1, 2, and 3 corresponding to the terminal 1, the control plane. The network element sends the request information carrying the identifiers of the user plane tunnels 1, 2, and 3 to the user plane network element, and the user plane network element deletes the user plane tunnels 1, 2, and 3 after receiving the request information.

For example, in the case of deleting a user plane tunnel in a lawful interception scenario, the control plane network element is SGW-C and the user plane network element is SGW-U, or the control plane network element involved is PGW-C and the user The face network element is PGW-U, or the control plane network element is SGW/PGW-C and the user plane network element is SGW/PGW-U, or the control plane network element involved is NG-CP and the user plane network element is NG-UP.

4. User plane tunnel corresponding device granularity

When the user plane tunnel corresponds to the device granularity, at least one user plane tunnel between the control plane network element and the user plane network element includes a user plane tunnel, and the target user plane tunnel is the user plane tunnel. The target user plane tunnel is used to transmit data related to all terminals served by the control plane network element and the user plane network element. Preset conditions can include one of the following:

(a) All sessions transmitted through the user plane tunnel need to be deleted.

In this case, the user plane tunnel can be deleted in the session deletion scenario.

Since there is only one user plane tunnel between the control plane network element and the user plane network element, all sessions between each terminal and the network element of the data network are transmitted on this user plane tunnel. If only part of the session needs to be deleted, this user plane tunnel cannot be deleted for transmitting other session-related data that has not been deleted. When all the sessions need to be deleted, it means that no session needs to be transmitted on this user plane tunnel. At this time, the user plane tunnel is triggered to be deleted. Road.

In an example, it is assumed that there is only one user plane tunnel between the control plane network element and the user plane network element, and there are a total of three terminals between the control plane network element and the user plane network element serving all the terminals and the data network element. Sessions are Session 1, Session 2, and Session 3. The data related to these three sessions is all transmitted through this user plane tunnel. When all the three sessions need to be deleted, the control plane network element determines to delete the user plane tunnel, and the control plane network element sends the request information to the user plane network element, and the user plane network element deletes the user plane after receiving the request information. tunnel.

(b) The data cached in the control plane network element associated with each terminal in all terminals has reached the maximum buffer amount allocated for each terminal.

In this case, the user plane tunnel can be deleted in the data cache scenario.

For any terminal that the control plane network element and the user plane network element jointly serve (taking the target terminal as an example), when the target terminal is in an idle state, the user plane network element receives data related to the target terminal (for example, in a data network). After the network element sends the downlink service data to the target terminal, the data related to the target terminal is forwarded to the control plane network element by using one of the user plane tunnels, and the data is buffered by the control plane network element. Subsequently, when the target terminal recovers from the idle state to the connected state, the control plane network element sends the cached data related to the target terminal to the user plane network element through the user plane tunnel, and the user plane network element sends the data to the target terminal. data.

The control plane network element is configured with the maximum amount of buffer allocated for each terminal. The maximum buffer size corresponding to each terminal may be allocated by the control plane network element, or may be allocated and notified to the control plane network element by other devices. For example, when the control plane network element is SGW-C, the maximum buffer amount corresponding to each terminal may be allocated by the MME and notified to the SGW-C. The maximum amount of buffer allocated to the target terminal refers to the maximum amount of data related to the target terminal that can be cached by the control plane network element. The maximum amount of buffers allocated for the different terminals may be the same or different, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application. Optionally, the maximum buffer amount is a downlink buffering suggested count. Taking the target terminal as an example, when the data related to the target terminal that has been cached in the control plane network element has reached the maximum buffer amount allocated for the target terminal, the control plane network element cannot continue to store data related to the target terminal. Since there is only one user plane tunnel between the control plane network element and the user plane network element, the data related to each terminal is transmitted through this user plane tunnel. If only some of the terminals have reached the corresponding maximum buffer amount in the control plane network element, the user plane tunnel cannot be deleted for transmission related to other terminals that have not reached the maximum buffer amount. data. When all the data cached by the terminal in the control plane network element has reached the corresponding maximum buffer amount, the user plane tunnel is triggered to be deleted.

In an example, it is assumed that there is only one user plane tunnel between the control plane network element and the user plane network element, and all terminals jointly served by the control plane network element and the user plane network element include the terminal 1, the terminal 2, and the terminal 3. It is assumed that the maximum buffer amount allocated to each terminal is a. When the data related to each terminal cached in the control plane network element has reached the maximum buffer amount a, the control plane network element determines to delete the user plane tunnel, and controls The surface network element sends the request information to the user plane network element, and the user plane network element deletes the user plane tunnel after receiving the request information.

For example, in the case of deleting a user plane tunnel in a data cache scenario, the control plane network element is SGW-C and the user plane network element is SGW-U, or the control plane network element involved is SGW/PGW-C. The user plane network element is SGW/PGW-U, or the control plane network element is NG-CP and the user plane network element is NG-UP.

(c) The data related to each terminal in all the terminals buffered in the control plane network element has been sent to the user plane network element.

In this case, the user plane tunnel can be deleted in the data forwarding scenario.

As described above, when the target terminal is in the idle state, after receiving the data related to the target terminal, the user plane network element forwards the data related to the target terminal to the control plane network element through the one user plane tunnel having the foregoing user plane tunnel. , These data are cached by the control plane network element. Subsequently, when the target terminal recovers from the idle state to the connected state, the control plane network element sends the cached data related to the target terminal to the user plane network element through the user plane tunnel, and the user plane network element sends the data to the target terminal. data.

Since there is only one user plane tunnel between the control plane network element and the user plane network element, the data related to each terminal is transmitted through this user plane tunnel. If only some of the data buffered by the terminal in the control plane network element has been sent to the user plane network element, the user plane tunnel cannot be deleted, and the data cached in the control plane network element is not yet all. Data related to other terminals sent to the user plane network element. When all the data buffered by the terminal in the control plane network element has been sent to the user plane network element, the user plane tunnel is triggered to be deleted.

In an example, it is assumed that there is only one user plane tunnel between the control plane network element and the user plane network element, and all terminals jointly served by the control plane network element and the user plane network element include the terminal 1, the terminal 2, and the terminal 3. When the data related to each terminal cached in the control plane network element is all sent to the user plane network element, the control plane network element determines to delete the user plane tunnel, and the control plane network element sends the request information to the user plane network element, and the user The face network element deletes the user plane tunnel after receiving the request information.

For example, in the case of deleting a user plane tunnel in a data forwarding scenario, the control plane network element is SGW-C and the user plane network element is SGW-U, or the control plane network element involved is SGW/PGW-C. The user plane network element is SGW/PGW-U, or the control plane network element is NG-CP and the user plane network element is NG-UP.

(d) The control plane network element receives an indication of the lawful interception system, the indication is used to indicate that it is no longer necessary to listen to data related to any of the terminals described above.

In this case, the user plane tunnel can be deleted in the legal listening scenario.

In the lawful interception scenario, if the lawful interception system needs to monitor data related to any terminal (taking the target terminal as an example), the user plane network element passes the above-mentioned one target user after receiving the data related to the target terminal. The plane tunnel sends the data related to the target terminal to the control plane network element, and the control plane network element forwards the data to the lawful interception system. The data sent by the user plane network element to the control plane network element may be a copy of the data generated by the user plane network element, and may also include other data type information. The data forwarded by the control plane network element to the lawful interception system may be data or other information processed by the control plane network element.

If the lawful interception system no longer needs to monitor data related to the target terminal, the lawful interception system may send a lawful interception deactivation message to the control plane network element, and the lawful interception deactivation message is used to indicate to deactivate the lawful interception associated with the target terminal. The function, the subsequent user plane network element does not need to send the data related to the target terminal to the control plane network element and then forward it to the legal listening system. Since there is only one user plane tunnel between the control plane network element and the user plane network element, if the lawful interception system still needs to monitor data related to at least one terminal, the user plane tunnel cannot be deleted for transmission and Terminal related data. When the lawful interception system no longer needs to monitor data related to any terminal, it triggers the deletion of this user plane tunnel.

In an example, it is assumed that there is only one user plane tunnel between the control plane network element and the user plane network element, and all terminals jointly served by the control plane network element and the user plane network element include the terminal 1, the terminal 2, and the terminal 3. When the lawful interception system no longer needs to monitor data related to any terminal, the control plane network element determines to delete the user plane tunnel, and the control plane network element sends the request information to the user plane network element, and the user plane network element receives the request. Delete this user plane tunnel after the message.

For example, in the case of deleting a user plane tunnel in a lawful interception scenario, the control plane network element is SGW-C and the user plane network element is SGW-U, or the control plane network element involved is PGW-C and the user The surface network element is PGW-U, or the control plane network element is SGW/PGW-C and the user plane network element is SGW/PGW-U, or the control plane network element involved. It is NG-CP and the user plane network element is NG-UP.

The preset conditions are described above for the different granularities corresponding to the user plane tunnel. In addition, the preset conditions are described in four different application scenarios, such as session deletion, data caching, data forwarding, and lawful interception. For the data cache scenario, the above only allocates the terminal corresponding to the maximum cache amount as an example. In other possible implementation manners, the maximum buffer amount may also correspond to the user plane tunnel allocation. That is, the control plane network element is configured with the maximum amount of buffer allocated for each user plane tunnel. The maximum buffer size corresponding to each user plane tunnel may be allocated by the control plane network element, or may be allocated and notified to the control plane network element by other devices. For example, when the control plane network element is SGW-C, the maximum buffer amount corresponding to each user plane tunnel may be allocated by the MME and notified to the SGW-C. The maximum amount of buffers allocated for the target user plane tunnel refers to the maximum amount of data that the control plane network element can buffer from the user plane network element through the target user plane tunnel. When the number of user plane tunnels is multiple, the maximum buffer size allocated for each user plane tunnel may be the same or different, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application. In this case, the preset condition is that the data transmitted from the user plane network element to the control plane network element through the target user plane tunnel has reached the maximum buffer amount allocated for the target user plane tunnel. When the data transmitted through the target user plane tunnel in the control plane network element has reached the maximum buffer amount allocated for the target user plane tunnel, the control plane network element cannot continue to store the data received through the target user plane tunnel. The user plane network element can forward the data to the control plane network element for caching through the target user plane tunnel, and the target user plane tunnel can be deleted.

In an example, it is assumed that there are three user plane tunnels between the control plane network element and the user plane network element, namely user plane tunnel 1, user plane tunnel 2, and user plane tunnel 3. It is assumed that the maximum buffer size allocated for each user plane tunnel is a, and the user plane tunnel 1 is taken as an example. When the data transmitted from the user plane network element to the control plane network element through the user plane tunnel 1 has reached the maximum buffer amount a. The control plane network element determines to delete the user plane tunnel 1. The control plane network element sends the request information carrying the identifier of the user plane tunnel 1 to the user plane network element, and the user plane network element deletes the user plane tunnel 1 after receiving the request information.

In addition, in the case that the maximum buffer amount corresponds to the user plane tunnel allocation, the granularity corresponding to the user plane tunnel may be the device granularity, the terminal granularity, the session granularity, or the bearer granularity, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

In an optional embodiment provided based on the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, as shown in FIG. 3, before or after the control plane network element sends the request information to the user plane network element, that is, before or after the 202 part, The method can also include the following parts:

In section 204, the control plane network element determines that a new user plane tunnel needs to be created.

Specifically, the control plane network element may determine that a new user plane tunnel needs to be created when it detects that the creation condition is met. The above creation conditions may be different for different granularities and different application scenarios corresponding to the user plane tunnel. The creation conditions are described below.

1. User plane tunnel corresponding terminal granularity

When the user plane tunnel corresponds to the terminal granularity, each user plane tunnel is used to transmit data related to one terminal. The new user plane tunnel requested to be created is used to transmit data related to the service terminal. The service terminal is a terminal that the control plane network element and the user plane network element jointly serve, and the user plane tunnel corresponding to the terminal is not yet created. The creation condition may include one of the following situations: (a) the session associated with the service terminal needs to be created; (b) the service terminal resumes from the idle state to the connected state, and the control plane network element needs to send the cached data related to the service terminal. To the user plane network element, the user plane network element sends the data to the service terminal; (c) the service terminal transitions from the connected state to the idle state, and the control plane network element needs to receive and cache the service terminal related from the user plane network element. Data; (d) The control plane network element receives an indication of the lawful interception system that needs to listen to data related to the service terminal.

2. User plane tunnel corresponding session granularity

When the user plane tunnel corresponds to the session granularity, each user plane tunnel is used to transmit data related to one session. The new user plane tunnel requested to be created is used to transfer data related to the new session, and the new session is the session that has not been created yet. The creation condition may include one of the following situations: (a) a new session needs to be created; (b) the new session includes at least one session for transmitting data related to the service terminal, and the service terminal is restored from the idle state to the connected state, The control plane network element needs to send the cached data related to the service terminal to the user plane network element, and the user plane network element sends the data to the service terminal; (c) the new session includes the transmission related to the service terminal. At least one session of data, and the service terminal transitions from the connected state to the idle state, the control plane network element needs to receive and cache data related to the service terminal from the user plane network element; (d) the new session includes for transmitting and serving the terminal At least one session of the associated data, and the control plane network element receiving the indication of the lawful interception system needs to listen to data related to the service terminal.

For the cases (b), (c), and (d) above, the service terminal is a terminal that the control plane network element and the user plane network element jointly serve.

3. User plane tunnel corresponding bearer granularity

When the user plane tunnel corresponds to the bearer granularity, each user plane tunnel is used to transmit data related to one bearer. The new user plane tunnel requested to be created is used to transmit data related to the new bearer, and the new bearer refers to the bearer that has not been created yet. The creation condition may include one of the following situations: (a) the new bearer includes at least one bearer for transmitting data related to the new session, and the new session needs to be created, and the new session refers to the session that has not been created yet; b) the new bearer includes at least one bearer for transmitting data related to the service terminal, and the service terminal is restored from the idle state to the connected state, and the control plane network element needs to send the cached data related to the service terminal to the user plane. The network element sends the data to the service terminal by the user plane network element; (c) the new bearer includes at least one bearer for transmitting data related to the service terminal, and the service terminal is switched from the connected state to the idle state, and the control plane The network element needs to receive and cache data related to the service terminal from the user plane network element; (d) the new bearer includes at least one bearer for transmitting data related to the service terminal, and the control plane network element receives the legal interception system. Indicates that you need to listen to data related to the service terminal.

For the cases (b), (c), and (d) above, the service terminal is a terminal that the control plane network element and the user plane network element jointly serve.

4. User plane tunnel corresponding device granularity

When the user plane tunnel corresponds to the device granularity, since there is only one user plane tunnel between the control plane network element and the user plane network element, the new user plane tunnel requested to be created is the user plane tunnel. This user plane tunnel is used to transmit data related to all terminals served by the control plane network element and the user plane network element. The creation condition may include one of the following situations: (a) a session transmitted through the user plane tunnel needs to be created, the session may be a session that needs to be created by any of the terminals described above; (b) any of the above terminals When a terminal recovers from the idle state to the connected state, the control plane network element needs to send the buffered data related to the terminal to the user plane network element, and the user plane network element sends the data to the terminal; (c) all the above Any terminal in the terminal transitions from the connected state to the idle state, and the control plane network element needs to receive and cache data related to the terminal from the user plane network element; (d) the control plane network element receives the indication of the legal listening system and needs to monitor Data related to any of the above terminals.

In section 205, the control plane network element sends a create request to the user plane network element, and the create request is used to instruct the user plane network element to create a new user plane tunnel.

Correspondingly, the user plane network element receives the creation request from the control plane network element.

In an example, the creation request may carry at least one of the following: indication information for creating a user plane tunnel, an identifier of a new user plane tunnel, a packet forwarding rule corresponding to a new user plane tunnel, or a new user plane. Tunnel pair The appropriate message matching rules.

In a possible implementation manner, the creation request carries an identifier of a new user plane tunnel that is requested to be created, to notify the user of a new user plane tunnel that the network element needs to create. For example, when the granularity of the user plane tunnel is the terminal granularity, the session granularity, or the bearer granularity, multiple user plane tunnels can be established between the control plane network element and the user plane network element. In addition, you need to identify the new user plane tunnel that the request was created in the create request. For example, when the granularity of the user plane tunnel is the device granularity, since there is only one user plane tunnel between the control plane network element and the user plane network element, the creation request only carries the foregoing indication information, and may not be in the The ID of the user plane tunnel carrying the request is created.

In a possible implementation manner, the request information carries a packet forwarding rule and/or a packet matching rule corresponding to the new user plane tunnel that is requested to be created, so that the user plane network element can configure the created new user according to the configuration. Packet forwarding rules and/or packet matching rules and other context information corresponding to the polygon tunnel.

In section 206, the user plane network element creates a new user plane tunnel based on the creation request.

Specifically, after receiving the creation request, the user plane network element may determine a new user plane tunnel that needs to be created, and then create the new user plane tunnel. For example, the user plane network element can create a new user plane tunnel by assigning resources to the new user plane tunnel, configuring corresponding context information for the new user plane tunnel, and so on.

In one example, after creating a new user plane tunnel, the user plane network element may send a create response to the control plane network element, the create response being used to indicate that a new user plane tunnel has been successfully created. Correspondingly, after receiving the creation response from the user plane network element, the control plane network element can confirm that a new user plane tunnel has been created.

In addition, the control plane network element and the user plane network element can send and receive creation requests and create responses through the control plane tunnel.

It can be seen from the above that the embodiment of the present application further provides a technical solution for creating a user plane tunnel between the control plane network element and the user plane network element, so that the user plane tunnel can be created when needed.

The scheme of the embodiment of the present application is further described below with reference to the method shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 to FIG. For the content of the method shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 6 , the same or similar content as the method shown in FIG. 2 or FIG. 3 can be referred to the detailed description in FIG. 2 or FIG. 3 , and details are not described herein.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of communication of another method for deleting a user plane tunnel according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In FIG. 4, the user plane tunnel corresponding to the terminal granularity and the application scenario as the data cache scenario are taken as an example for description. The method can include the following parts.

In section 401, when the target terminal is in an idle state, the user plane network element sends data related to the target terminal to the control plane network element through the target user plane tunnel corresponding to the target terminal.

In section 402, the control plane network element caches data associated with the target terminal.

In Section 403, the control plane network element determines whether the cached data associated with the target terminal has reached the maximum amount of buffer allocated for the target terminal.

In the 404 part, if the cached data related to the target terminal has reached the maximum buffer amount allocated for the target terminal, the control plane network element sends request information to the user plane network element, where the request information is used to indicate that the user plane network element deletes the target. In the user plane tunnel, the request information carries the identifier of the target user plane tunnel.

In section 405, the user plane network element deletes the target user plane tunnel according to the request information.

In part 406, the user plane network element sends a response message to the control plane network element.

In section 407, when the target terminal recovers from the idle state to the connected state, the control plane network element determines that a new user plane tunnel needs to be created, and the new user plane tunnel is used to transmit the cached target to the target terminal network element. The data.

In section 408, the control plane network element sends a create request to the user plane network element, and the create request is used to instruct the user plane network element to create a new user plane tunnel.

In Section 409, the user plane network element creates a new user plane tunnel based on the creation request.

In section 410, the user plane network element sends a create response to the control plane network element.

Then, the control plane network element can send the cached data related to the target terminal to the user plane network element through the new user plane tunnel.

In section 411, the control plane network element sends a session termination request to the user plane network element, where the session termination request is used to instruct the user plane network element to delete the session related to the target terminal.

In section 412, the user plane network element deletes the session associated with the target terminal and deletes the user plane tunnel associated with the target terminal.

In section 413, the user plane network element sends a session termination response to the control plane network element.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of communication of a method for deleting a user plane tunnel according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In FIG. 5, the user plane tunnel corresponding to the terminal granularity and the application scenario as the data forwarding scenario are taken as an example for description. The method can include the following parts.

In section 501, when the target terminal recovers from the idle state to the connected state, the control plane network element sends the cached data related to the target terminal to the user plane network element through the target user plane tunnel corresponding to the target terminal.

In section 502, the control plane network element determines whether the cached data associated with the target terminal has all been sent to the user plane network element.

In 503, if the data related to the target terminal cached by the control plane network element is all sent to the user plane network element, the control plane network element sends request information to the user plane network element, where the request information is used to indicate that the user plane network element is deleted. The target user plane tunnel carries the identifier of the target user plane tunnel.

In section 504, the user plane network element deletes the target user plane tunnel according to the request information.

In section 505, the user plane network element sends a response message to the control plane network element.

In section 506, when the target terminal transitions from the connected state to the idle state, the control plane network element determines that a new user plane tunnel needs to be created, and the new user plane tunnel is configured to receive data related to the target terminal from the user plane network element, In order to cache the data related to the target terminal in the control plane network element.

In Section 507, the control plane network element sends a create request to the user plane network element, and the create request is used to instruct the user plane network element to create a new user plane tunnel.

In Section 508, the user plane network element creates a new user plane tunnel based on the creation request.

In section 509, the user plane network element sends a create response to the control plane network element.

Then, the user plane network element can send data related to the target terminal to the control plane network element through the new user plane tunnel, and the control plane network element receives and caches data related to the target terminal.

In section 510, the control plane network element sends a session termination request to the user plane network element, where the session termination request is used to instruct the user plane network element to delete the session related to the target terminal.

In Section 511, the user plane network element deletes the session associated with the target terminal and deletes the user plane tunnel associated with the target terminal.

In Section 512, the user plane network element sends a session termination response to the control plane network element.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of communication of another method for deleting a user plane tunnel according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In FIG. 6, the user plane tunnel corresponds to the granularity of the terminal, and the application scenario is taken as a legal listening scenario. The method can include the next part.

In the 601 part, in a case where the lawful interception function corresponding to the target terminal is in an active state, the user plane network element transmits data related to the target terminal to the control plane network element through the target user plane tunnel corresponding to the target terminal.

In Section 602, the control plane network element forwards data related to the target terminal to the lawful interception system.

In Section 603, the control plane network element receives a lawful interception deactivation message from the lawful interception system, the lawful interception deactivation message is used to indicate that the lawful interception function associated with the target terminal is deactivated.

In the 604 part, the control plane network element sends the request information to the user plane network element, where the request information is used to indicate that the user plane network element deletes the target user plane tunnel, and the request information carries the identifier of the target user plane tunnel.

In part 605, the user plane network element deletes the target user plane tunnel according to the request information.

In section 606, the user plane network element sends response information to the control plane network element.

In section 607, the control plane network element receives a lawful interception activation message from the lawful interception system, the legal listener activation message being used to indicate activation of a lawful interception function associated with the target terminal.

In the 608 part, the control plane network element sends a creation request to the user plane network element, where the creation request is used to instruct the user plane network element to create a new user plane tunnel, and the new user plane tunnel is used to receive the target terminal from the user plane network element. related data.

In Section 609, the user plane network element creates a new user plane tunnel based on the creation request.

In section 610, the user plane network element sends a create response to the control plane network element.

Then, the user plane network element can send data related to the target terminal to the control plane network element through the new user plane tunnel, and the control plane network element receives and forwards data related to the target terminal to the legal listening system.

In section 611, the control plane network element sends a session termination request to the user plane network element, where the session termination request is used to instruct the user plane network element to delete the session related to the target terminal.

In section 612, the user plane network element deletes the session associated with the target terminal and deletes the user plane tunnel associated with the target terminal.

In section 613, the user plane network element sends a session termination response to the control plane network element.

The solution provided by the embodiment of the present application is introduced from the perspective of the interaction between the control plane network element and the user plane network element. It can be understood that the control plane network element and the user plane network element include hardware structures and/or software modules corresponding to each function in order to implement the above functions. The embodiments of the present application can be implemented in a combination of hardware or hardware and computer software in combination with the elements of the examples and algorithm steps described in the embodiments disclosed in the application. Whether a function is implemented in hardware or computer software to drive hardware depends on the specific application and design constraints of the solution. A person skilled in the art can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered to be beyond the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application.

The embodiments of the present application may perform functional unit division on a control plane network element or a user plane network element according to the foregoing method example. For example, each functional unit may be divided according to each function, or two or more functions may be integrated into one. Processing unit. The above integrated unit can be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of a software functional unit. It should be noted that the division of the unit in the embodiment of the present application is schematic, and is only a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be another division manner.

In the case of employing an integrated unit, FIG. 7A shows a possible structural diagram of the control plane network element involved in the above embodiment. The control plane network element 700 includes a processing unit 702 and a communication unit 703. The processing unit 702 is configured to control and manage the action of the control plane network element. For example, the processing unit 702 is configured to support the control plane network element to perform the processes 201 and 202 in FIG. 2, and the processes 204 and 205 in FIG. 3, in FIG. Processes 402-404, 407, 408, and 411, Processes 501-503, 506, 507, and 510 in FIG. 5, processes 602-604, 607, 608, and 611 in FIG. 6, and/or other processes for the techniques described herein. The communication unit 703 is configured to support communication between the control plane network element and the user plane network element or other network entity. The control plane network element 700 can also include a storage unit 701 for storing program code and data of the control plane network element 700.

The processing unit 702 can be a processor or a controller, and can be, for example, a central processing unit (CPU), a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), and an application-specific integrated circuit (Application-Specific). Integrated Circuit (ASIC), Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, transistor logic device, hardware component, or any combination thereof. It is possible to implement or carry out the various illustrative logical blocks, modules and circuits described in connection with the present disclosure. The processor may also be a combination of computing functions, for example, including one or more microprocessor combinations, a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, and the like. The communication unit 703 can be a communication interface, a transceiver, a transceiver circuit, etc., wherein the communication interface is a collective name and can include one or more interfaces, such as an interface between the control plane network element and the user plane network element. The storage unit 701 can be a memory.

When the processing unit 702 is a processor, the communication unit 703 is a communication interface, and the storage unit 701 is a memory, the control plane network element involved in the embodiment of the present application may be the control plane network element shown in FIG. 7B.

Referring to FIG. 7B, the control plane network element 710 includes a processor 712, a communication interface 713, and a memory 711. Optionally, the control plane network element 710 may further include a bus 714. The communication interface 713, the processor 712, and the memory 711 may be connected to each other through a bus 714. The bus 714 may be a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus or an Extended Industry Standard Architecture (abbreviated). EISA) bus and so on. The bus 714 can be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, and the like. For ease of representation, only one thick line is shown in Figure 7B, but it does not mean that there is only one bus or one type of bus.

The control plane network element shown in FIG. 7A or FIG. 7B above may be SGW-C, PGW-C, TDF-C, SGW/PGW-C or NG-CP.

In the case of employing an integrated unit, FIG. 8A shows a possible structural diagram of the user plane network element involved in the above embodiment. The user plane network element 800 includes a processing unit 802 and a communication unit 803. The processing unit 802 is configured to control and manage the action of the user plane network element. For example, the processing unit 802 is configured to support the user plane network element to perform the process 203 in FIG. 2, the process 206 in FIG. 3, and the process 401 in FIG. 405, 406, 409, 410, 412, and 413, processes 504, 505, 508, 509, 511, and 512 in FIG. 5, processes 601, 605, 606, 609, 610, 612, and 613 in FIG. 6, and / Or other processes for the techniques described herein. The communication unit 803 is configured to support communication between the user plane network element and the control plane network element or other network entity. The user plane network element 800 can also include a storage unit 801 for storing program codes and data of the user plane network element 800.

The processing unit 802 can be a processor or a controller, such as a CPU, a general purpose processor, a DSP, an ASIC, an FPGA or other programmable logic device, a transistor logic device, a hardware component, or any combination thereof. It is possible to implement or carry out the various illustrative logical blocks, modules and circuits described in connection with the present disclosure. The processor may also be a combination of computing functions, for example, including one or more microprocessor combinations, a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, and the like. The communication unit 803 can be a communication interface, a transceiver, a transceiver circuit, etc., wherein the communication interface is a collective name and can include one or more interfaces, such as an interface between the user plane network element and the control plane network element. The storage unit 801 can be a memory.

When the processing unit 802 is a processor, the communication unit 803 is a communication interface, and the storage unit 801 is a memory, the present The user plane network element involved in the application embodiment may be the user plane network element shown in FIG. 8B.

Referring to FIG. 8B, the user plane network element 810 includes a processor 812, a communication interface 813, and a memory 811. Optionally, the user plane network element 810 may further include a bus 814. The communication interface 813, the processor 812, and the memory 811 may be connected to each other through a bus 814; the bus 814 may be a PCI bus or an EISA bus or the like. The bus 814 can be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, and the like. For ease of representation, only one thick line is shown in Figure 8B, but it does not mean that there is only one bus or one type of bus.

The user plane network element shown in FIG. 8A or FIG. 8B above may be SGW-U, PGW-U, TDF-U, SGW/PGW-U or NG-UP.

The steps of the method or algorithm described in connection with the disclosure of the embodiments of the present application may be implemented in a hardware manner, or may be implemented by a processor executing software instructions. The software instructions may be composed of corresponding software modules, which may be stored in a random access memory (RAM), a flash memory, a read only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read only memory ( Erasable Programmable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM), registers, hard disk, removable hard disk, compact disk read only (CD-ROM) or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor to enable the processor to read information from, and write information to, the storage medium. Of course, the storage medium can also be an integral part of the processor. The processor and the storage medium can be located in an ASIC. Additionally, the ASIC can be located in a control plane network element or a user plane network element. Of course, the processor and the storage medium may also exist as discrete components in the control plane network element or the user plane network element.

Those skilled in the art should appreciate that in one or more of the above examples, the functions described in the embodiments of the present application may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, the functions may be stored in a computer readable medium or transmitted as one or more instructions or code on a computer readable medium. Computer readable media includes both computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one location to another. A storage medium may be any available media that can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer.

The specific embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail with reference to the embodiments, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present application. It should be understood that the foregoing description is only The scope of the present invention is defined by the scope of the present invention, and any modifications, equivalents, improvements, etc., which are included in the embodiments of the present application, are included in the scope of protection of the embodiments of the present application.

Claims (29)

A method for deleting a user plane tunnel is applied to a communication system, where the communication system includes a control plane network element and a user plane network element, and the control plane network element and the user plane network element have at least one user plane Tunnel, the method includes: Determining, by the control plane network element, that there is a target user plane tunnel that meets a preset condition in the at least one user plane tunnel; The control plane network element sends request information to the user plane network element, where the request information is used to instruct the user plane network element to delete the target user plane tunnel. The method according to claim 1, wherein each of the at least one user plane tunnel is configured to transmit data related to a terminal, and the target user plane tunnel is used for transmission related to the target terminal. The data, the preset condition includes one of the following situations: All sessions related to the target terminal need to be deleted; The data related to the target terminal that has been cached in the control plane network element has reached a maximum buffer amount allocated for the target terminal; The data related to the target terminal cached in the control plane network element is all sent to the user plane network element; The control plane network element receives an indication of a lawful interception system, and the indication is used to indicate that it is no longer necessary to listen to data related to the target terminal. The method according to claim 1, wherein each of the at least one user plane tunnel is configured to transmit data related to a session, and the target user plane tunnel is used to transmit and be related to the target session. The data, the preset condition includes one of the following situations: The target session needs to be deleted; The target session includes at least one session for transmitting data related to the target terminal, and the data associated with the target terminal that has been cached in the control plane network element has reached a maximum buffer amount allocated for the target terminal ; The target session includes at least one session for transmitting data related to the target terminal, and data related to the target terminal buffered in the control plane network element has all been sent to the user plane network element; The target session includes at least one session for transmitting data related to the target terminal, and the control plane network element receives an indication of a lawful interception system, the indication is used to indicate that the monitoring is no longer needed to be related to the target terminal The data. The method according to claim 1, wherein each of the at least one user plane tunnel is used for transmitting data related to one bearer, and the target user plane tunnel is used for transmitting and related to the target bearer. The data, the preset condition includes one of the following situations: The target bearer is at least one bearer for transmitting data related to the target session, and the target session needs to be deleted; The target bearer is at least one bearer for transmitting data related to the target terminal, and the data related to the target terminal that has been buffered in the control plane network element has reached the maximum buffer amount allocated for the target terminal. ; The target bearer is configured to transmit at least one bearer of data related to the target terminal, and data related to the target terminal cached in the control plane network element is all sent to the user plane network element; The target bearer is configured to transmit at least one bearer of data related to the target terminal, and the control plane network element receives an indication of a legal listening system, where the indication is used to indicate that the monitoring is no longer needed to be related to the target terminal. The data. The method according to claim 1, wherein the at least one user plane tunnel comprises a user plane tunnel, the target user plane tunnel is the one user plane tunnel, and the target user plane tunnel is used for transmission and The control plane network element and the data related to all terminals served by the user plane network element, the preset condition includes one of the following situations: All sessions transmitted through the one user plane tunnel need to be deleted; The data related to each terminal in all the terminals that have been buffered in the control plane network element has reached the maximum buffer amount allocated for each terminal; The data related to each terminal in all the terminals cached in the control plane network element is all sent to the user plane network element; The control plane network element receives an indication of a lawful interception system, and the indication is used to indicate that it is no longer necessary to listen to data related to any one of the terminals. The method according to claim 1, wherein the preset condition is that data transmitted from the user plane network element to the control plane network element by the target user plane tunnel has reached the target The maximum amount of buffer allocated by the user plane tunnel. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein before or after the control plane network element sends the request information to the user plane network element, the method further includes: The control plane network element determines that a new user plane tunnel needs to be created; The control plane network element sends a creation request to the user plane network element, where the creation request is used to instruct the user plane network element to create the new user plane tunnel. A method for deleting a user plane tunnel is applied to a communication system, where the communication system includes a control plane network element and a user plane network element, and the control plane network element and the user plane network element have at least one user plane Tunnel, the method includes: The user plane network element receives request information from the control plane network element, where the request information is used to instruct the user plane network element to delete a target user plane tunnel that meets a preset condition in the at least one user plane tunnel; The user plane network element deletes the target user plane tunnel according to the request information. The method according to claim 8, wherein each of the at least one user plane tunnel is used for transmitting data related to one terminal, and the target user plane tunnel is used for transmission related to the target terminal. The data, the preset condition includes one of the following situations: All sessions related to the target terminal need to be deleted; The data related to the target terminal that has been cached in the control plane network element has reached a maximum buffer amount allocated for the target terminal; The data related to the target terminal cached in the control plane network element is all sent to the user plane network element; The control plane network element receives an indication of a lawful interception system, and the indication is used to indicate that it is no longer necessary to listen to data related to the target terminal. The method according to claim 8, wherein each of the at least one user plane tunnel is used to transmit data related to one session, and the target user plane tunnel is used for transmission related to the target session. The data, the preset condition includes one of the following situations: The target session needs to be deleted; The target session includes at least one session for transmitting data related to the target terminal, and the control plane network The data cached in the meta-related to the target terminal has reached the maximum buffer amount allocated for the target terminal; The target session includes at least one session for transmitting data related to the target terminal, and data related to the target terminal buffered in the control plane network element has all been sent to the user plane network element; The target session includes at least one session for transmitting data related to the target terminal, and the control plane network element receives an indication of a lawful interception system, the indication is used to indicate that the monitoring is no longer needed to be related to the target terminal The data. The method according to claim 8, wherein each of the at least one user plane tunnel is used for transmitting data related to one bearer, and the target user plane tunnel is used for transmitting and related to the target bearer. The data, the preset condition includes one of the following situations: The target bearer is at least one bearer for transmitting data related to the target session, and the target session needs to be deleted; The target bearer is at least one bearer for transmitting data related to the target terminal, and the data related to the target terminal that has been buffered in the control plane network element has reached the maximum buffer amount allocated for the target terminal. ; The target bearer is configured to transmit at least one bearer of data related to the target terminal, and data related to the target terminal cached in the control plane network element is all sent to the user plane network element; The target bearer is configured to transmit at least one bearer of data related to the target terminal, and the control plane network element receives an indication of a legal listening system, where the indication is used to indicate that the monitoring is no longer needed to be related to the target terminal. The data. The method according to claim 8, wherein the at least one user plane tunnel comprises a user plane tunnel, the target user plane tunnel is the one user plane tunnel, and the target user plane tunnel is used for transmission and The control plane network element and the data related to all terminals served by the user plane network element, the preset condition includes one of the following situations: All sessions transmitted through the one user plane tunnel need to be deleted; The data related to each terminal in all the terminals that have been buffered in the control plane network element has reached the maximum buffer amount allocated for each terminal; The data related to each terminal in all the terminals cached in the control plane network element is all sent to the user plane network element; The control plane network element receives an indication of a lawful interception system, and the indication is used to indicate that it is no longer necessary to listen to data related to any one of the terminals. The method according to claim 8, wherein the preset condition is that data transmitted from the user plane network element to the control plane network element through the target user plane tunnel has reached the target The maximum amount of buffer allocated by the user plane tunnel. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 13, wherein before or after the user plane network element receives the request information from the control plane network element, the method further includes: The user plane network element receives a creation request from the control plane network element, where the creation request is used to instruct the user plane network element to create a new user plane tunnel; The user plane network element creates the new user plane tunnel according to the creation request. A control plane network element is applied to a communication system, where the communication system includes the control plane network element and the user plane network element, and the control plane network element and the user plane network element have at least one user plane a tunnel, the control plane network element includes: a processing unit and a communication unit; The processing unit is configured to determine that there is a target user plane tunnel in the at least one user plane tunnel that meets a preset condition And sending, by the communication unit, request information to the user plane network element, where the request information is used to instruct the user plane network element to delete the target user plane tunnel. The control plane network element according to claim 15, wherein each of the at least one user plane tunnel is configured to transmit data related to a terminal, and the target user plane tunnel is used for transmission and Target terminal related data, the preset condition includes one of the following situations: All sessions related to the target terminal need to be deleted; The data related to the target terminal that has been cached in the control plane network element has reached a maximum buffer amount allocated for the target terminal; The data related to the target terminal cached in the control plane network element is all sent to the user plane network element; The control plane network element receives an indication of a lawful interception system, and the indication is used to indicate that it is no longer necessary to listen to data related to the target terminal. The control plane network element according to claim 15, wherein each of the at least one user plane tunnel is configured to transmit data related to a session, and the target user plane tunnel is used for transmission and Target session related data, the preset condition includes one of the following situations: The target session needs to be deleted; The target session includes at least one session for transmitting data related to the target terminal, and the data associated with the target terminal that has been cached in the control plane network element has reached a maximum buffer amount allocated for the target terminal ; The target session includes at least one session for transmitting data related to the target terminal, and data related to the target terminal buffered in the control plane network element has all been sent to the user plane network element; The target session includes at least one session for transmitting data related to the target terminal, and the control plane network element receives an indication of a lawful interception system, the indication is used to indicate that the monitoring is no longer needed to be related to the target terminal The data. The control plane network element according to claim 15, wherein each of the at least one user plane tunnel is configured to transmit data related to one bearer, and the target user plane tunnel is used for transmission and The target carries related data, and the preset condition includes one of the following situations: The target bearer is at least one bearer for transmitting data related to the target session, and the target session needs to be deleted; The target bearer is at least one bearer for transmitting data related to the target terminal, and the data related to the target terminal that has been buffered in the control plane network element has reached the maximum buffer amount allocated for the target terminal. ; The target bearer is configured to transmit at least one bearer of data related to the target terminal, and data related to the target terminal cached in the control plane network element is all sent to the user plane network element; The target bearer is configured to transmit at least one bearer of data related to the target terminal, and the control plane network element receives an indication of a legal listening system, where the indication is used to indicate that the monitoring is no longer needed to be related to the target terminal. The data. The control plane network element according to claim 15, wherein the at least one user plane tunnel comprises a user plane tunnel, the target user plane tunnel is the one user plane tunnel, and the target user plane tunnel is used. And transmitting, according to data related to all terminals served by the control plane network element and the user plane network element, the preset condition includes one of the following situations: All sessions transmitted through the user plane tunnel need to be deleted; The data related to each terminal in all the terminals that have been buffered in the control plane network element has reached the maximum buffer amount allocated for each terminal; The data related to each terminal in all the terminals cached in the control plane network element is all sent to the user plane network element; The control plane network element receives an indication of a lawful interception system, and the indication is used to indicate that it is no longer necessary to listen to data related to any one of the terminals. The control plane network element according to claim 15, wherein the preset condition is that data transmitted from the user plane network element to the control plane network element by the target user plane tunnel has been reached as The maximum amount of buffer allocated by the target user plane tunnel. The control plane network element according to any one of claims 15 to 20, wherein the processing unit is further configured to determine a need before or after sending the request information to the user plane network element by using the communication unit. Creating a new user plane tunnel; and for transmitting a creation request to the user plane network element by using the communication unit, the creation request is used to instruct the user plane network element to create the new user plane tunnel. A user plane network element is applied to a communication system, where the communication system includes a control plane network element and the user plane network element, and the control plane network element and the user plane network element have at least one user plane a tunnel, the user plane network element includes: a processing unit and a communication unit; The processing unit is configured to receive request information from the control plane network element by using the communication unit, where the request information is used to instruct the user plane network element to delete a target that meets a preset condition in the at least one user plane tunnel a user plane tunnel; and for deleting the target user plane tunnel according to the request information. The user plane network element according to claim 22, wherein each of the at least one user plane tunnel is used for transmitting data related to one terminal, and the target user plane tunnel is used for transmission and Target terminal related data, the preset condition includes one of the following situations: All sessions related to the target terminal need to be deleted; The data related to the target terminal that has been cached in the control plane network element has reached a maximum buffer amount allocated for the target terminal; The data related to the target terminal cached in the control plane network element is all sent to the user plane network element; The control plane network element receives an indication of a lawful interception system, and the indication is used to indicate that it is no longer necessary to listen to data related to the target terminal. The user plane network element according to claim 22, wherein each of the at least one user plane tunnel is configured to transmit data related to one session, and the target user plane tunnel is used for transmission and Target session related data, the preset condition includes one of the following situations: The target session needs to be deleted; The target session includes at least one session for transmitting data related to the target terminal, and the data associated with the target terminal that has been cached in the control plane network element has reached a maximum buffer amount allocated for the target terminal ; The target session includes at least one session for transmitting data related to the target terminal, and data related to the target terminal buffered in the control plane network element has all been sent to the user plane network element; The target session includes at least one session for transmitting data related to the target terminal, and the control plane network element receives an indication of a lawful interception system, the indication is used to indicate that the monitoring is no longer needed to be related to the target terminal The data. The user plane network element according to claim 22, wherein each of the at least one user plane tunnel is configured to transmit data related to one bearer, and the target user plane tunnel is used for transmission and The target carries related data, and the preset condition includes one of the following situations: The target bearer is at least one bearer for transmitting data related to the target session, and the target session needs to be deleted; The target bearer is at least one bearer for transmitting data related to the target terminal, and the data related to the target terminal that has been buffered in the control plane network element has reached the maximum buffer amount allocated for the target terminal. ; The target bearer is configured to transmit at least one bearer of data related to the target terminal, and data related to the target terminal cached in the control plane network element is all sent to the user plane network element; The target bearer is configured to transmit at least one bearer of data related to the target terminal, and the control plane network element receives an indication of a legal listening system, where the indication is used to indicate that the monitoring is no longer needed to be related to the target terminal. The data. The user plane network element according to claim 22, wherein the at least one user plane tunnel comprises a user plane tunnel, the target user plane tunnel is the one user plane tunnel, and the target user plane tunnel is used. And transmitting, according to data related to all terminals served by the control plane network element and the user plane network element, the preset condition includes one of the following situations: All sessions transmitted through the user plane tunnel need to be deleted; The data related to each terminal in all the terminals that have been buffered in the control plane network element has reached the maximum buffer amount allocated for each terminal; The data related to each terminal in all the terminals cached in the control plane network element is all sent to the user plane network element; The control plane network element receives an indication of a lawful interception system, and the indication is used to indicate that it is no longer necessary to listen to data related to any one of the terminals. The user plane network element according to claim 22, wherein the preset condition is that data transmitted from the user plane network element to the control plane network element by the target user plane tunnel has been reached as The maximum amount of buffer allocated by the target user plane tunnel. The user plane network element according to any one of claims 22 to 27, wherein the processing unit is further configured to: before or after receiving the request information from the control plane network element by using the communication unit, The communication unit receives a creation request from the control plane network element, the creation request is used to instruct the user plane network element to create a new user plane tunnel, and is configured to create the new user plane according to the creation request tunnel. A communication system, characterized in that the communication system comprises: a control plane network element according to any one of claims 15 to 21 and a user plane network element according to any one of claims 22 to 28.

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