WO2025043422A1 - Access discrimination method, and apparatus, device, communication device and storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to the technical field of communications, and in particular to an access discrimination method, and an apparatus, a device, a communication device and a storage medium. The access discrimination method comprises: a first node sending a first message to a second node, wherein the first message includes first information, and the first information is used for discriminating a plurality of access networks used by a terminal. According to the present disclosure, when a terminal accesses a core network by means of a plurality of access networks, by means of first information, a first node may indicate to a second node which of the access networks used by the terminal a first message is regarding, such that the second node can discriminate, on the basis of the first information, the plurality of access networks used by the terminal, thereby ensuring that the first message can be successfully processed by the second node, further ensuring the implementation of an ATSSS function, and avoiding the communication problem caused by it being impossible for the second node to accurately discriminate the plurality of access networks used by the terminal.

Description

Access differentiation method, device, equipment, communication equipment and storage medium Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to an access differentiation method, apparatus, communication equipment and storage medium.

Background Art

The terminals and networks in the 5G system can support access traffic steering, splitting, switching (ATSSS) functions.

The ATSSS function can implement Multi-Access Protocol Data Unit (MA PDU) connection service. The MA PDU connection service can be implemented by establishing a MA PDU session, that is, a PDU session has user plane resources on multiple access networks. When a terminal registers to the core network through multiple access networks, the terminal can request to establish a MA PDU session to implement the ATSSS function.

When a terminal registers to a core network through multiple access networks, there may be a problem of confusing the access networks.

Summary of the invention

The embodiments of the present disclosure propose access differentiation methods, devices, equipment, communication equipment and storage media to solve the technical problem in the related art that when a terminal registers to a core network through multiple access networks, there may be confusion in the access network.

According to a first aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, an access differentiation method is proposed, which is executed by a first node. The method includes: sending a first message to a second node, wherein the first message includes first information, wherein the first information is used to distinguish multiple access networks used by a terminal.

According to a second aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, an access differentiation method is proposed, which is executed by a second node. The method includes: receiving a first message sent by a first node, the first message containing first information, wherein the first information is used to distinguish multiple access networks used by a terminal.

According to a third aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a first device is proposed, comprising: a transceiver module, configured to send a first message to a second node, wherein the first message comprises first information, wherein the first information is used to distinguish between multiple access networks used by a terminal.

According to a fourth aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a second device is proposed, comprising: a transceiver module, configured to receive a first message sent by a first node, wherein the first message comprises first information, wherein the first information is used to distinguish between multiple access networks used by a terminal.

According to a fifth aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a first device is proposed, comprising: one or more processors; wherein the processor is used to call instructions to enable the first device to execute the access differentiation method of the first aspect above.

According to a sixth aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a second device is proposed, comprising: one or more processors; wherein the processor is used to call instructions to enable the second device to execute the access differentiation method of the second aspect above.

According to the seventh aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a communication device is proposed, comprising: one or more processors; wherein the processor is used to call instructions so that the communication device executes the access differentiation method of the first aspect above, and/or the access differentiation method of the second aspect above.

According to an eighth aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a communication system is provided, including a first node and a second node. The first node is configured to implement the access differentiation method of the first aspect, and the second node is configured to implement the access differentiation method of the second aspect.

According to a ninth aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a storage medium is proposed, wherein the storage medium stores instructions, and when the instructions are executed on a communication device, the communication device executes the access differentiation method of the first aspect and/or the access differentiation method of the second aspect.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a first node may send a first message including first information to a second node, and the first information may be used to distinguish between multiple access networks used by a terminal. Accordingly, in the case where a terminal accesses a core network through multiple access networks, since the message transmitted between the terminal and the network may be for any one or more of the multiple access networks used by the terminal, the first node may indicate to the second node through the first information which access network the first message is for, so that the second node may distinguish between the multiple access networks used by the terminal based on the first information, thereby ensuring that the first message can be successfully processed by the second node, and also ensuring the realization of the ATSSS function, avoiding the second node being unable to accurately distinguish between the multiple access networks used by the terminal and causing communication problems.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the drawings required for use in the description of the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present disclosure. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative work.

FIG1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG2 is an interactive schematic diagram of an access differentiation method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG3 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system supporting the ATSSS function according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG4 is a schematic flow chart of an access differentiation method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG5 is an interactive schematic diagram of an access differentiation method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG6 is an interactive schematic diagram showing another access differentiation method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 is an interactive schematic diagram showing another access differentiation method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG8 is a schematic flow chart of another access differentiation method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 9 is a schematic block diagram of a first device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 10 is a schematic block diagram of a second device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device proposed in an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a chip proposed in an embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The embodiments of the present disclosure provide an access differentiation method, an apparatus, a device, a communication device, a communication system and a storage medium.

In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure proposes an access differentiation method, which is executed by a first node. The method includes: sending a first message to a second node, wherein the first message includes first information, wherein the first information is used to distinguish multiple access networks used by a terminal.

In the above embodiment, the first node may send a first message including first information to the second node, and the first information may be used to distinguish between multiple access networks used by the terminal. Accordingly, in the case where the terminal accesses the core network through multiple access networks, since the message transmitted between the terminal and the network may be for any one or more of the multiple access networks used by the terminal, the first node may indicate to the second node through the first information which access network the first message is for, so that the second node can distinguish between the multiple access networks used by the terminal according to the first information, thereby ensuring that the first message can be successfully processed by the second node, and also ensuring the implementation of the ATSSS function, avoiding the second node being unable to accurately distinguish between the multiple access networks used by the terminal and causing communication problems.

In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the first information is used to distinguish between multiple 3GPP access networks used by the terminal.

In the above embodiment, since the access types of the multiple access networks used by the terminal are the same, the first information is only used to indicate the access type of the access network, which is not sufficient to distinguish the multiple 3GPP access networks used by the terminal. Accordingly, the first node can indicate to the second node through the first information which 3GPP access network used by the terminal the first message is for, so that the second node can distinguish the multiple 3GPP access networks used by the terminal according to the first information, thereby ensuring that the first message can be successfully processed by the second node, and also ensuring the implementation of the ATSSS function, avoiding the second node being unable to accurately distinguish the multiple 3GPP access networks used by the terminal and causing communication problems.

In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, when the terminal accesses the core network through a first 3GPP access network and accesses the core network through a second 3GPP access network, the first information indicates the first 3GPP access network or the second 3GPP access network.

In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the first node includes the terminal, and the second node includes a first core network function.

In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect. In some embodiments, sending the first message to the second node includes: sending a performance measurement function protocol access report PMFP Access Report message to the first core network function, wherein the PMFP Access Report message is used to report to the first core network function whether the access network indicated by the first information is available.

In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect. In some embodiments, sending the first message to the second node includes: sending a Performance Measurement Function Protocol User Assistance Data Provision PMFP UAD provision message to the first core network function, wherein the PMFP UAD provision message is used to instruct the first core network function to divert downlink data through the access network indicated by the first information.

In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the first information is used to indicate that downlink data transmitted to the terminal is split through the multiple access networks, and is also used to indicate a transmission ratio of each access network for transmitting the downlink data.

In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the first core network function is a user plane function UPF, or a performance measurement function PMF.

In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the first node includes a second core network function, and the second node includes a third core network function.

In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect. In some embodiments, the sending of the first message to the second node includes: sending a session management message to the third core network function, wherein the session management message is used to instruct the third core network function to perform user plane connection and control plane connection operations between the access network indicated by the first information and the terminal; the user plane connection is a connection for business data interaction between the terminal and the core network; the control plane connection is a connection for control signaling interaction between the terminal and the core network.

In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the operation includes one of the following: a connection establishment operation; a connection modification operation; a connection release operation.

In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect. In some embodiments, when the terminal accesses the core network through a first 3GPP access network and accesses the core network through a second 3GPP access network, the first information indicates the type of wireless access network to which the first 3GPP access network or the second 3GPP access network belongs; wherein the type of wireless access network to which the first 3GPP access network belongs is a first wireless access network type, the type of wireless access network to which the second 3GPP access network belongs is a second wireless access network type, and the first wireless access network type is different from the second wireless access network type.

In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the second core network function is a session management function SMF, and the third core network function is an access management function AMF or a user plane function UPF.

In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure proposes an access differentiation method, which is executed by a second node. The method includes: receiving a first message sent by a first node, the first message comprising first information, wherein the first information is used to distinguish multiple access networks used by a terminal.

In the above embodiment, the second node can receive a first message including first information sent by the first node, and the first information can be used to distinguish multiple access networks used by the terminal. Accordingly, in the case where the terminal accesses the core network through multiple access networks, since the message transmitted between the terminal and the network may be for any one or more of the multiple access networks used by the terminal, the first node can indicate to the second node through the first information which access network the first message is for, so that the second node can distinguish the multiple access networks used by the terminal according to the first information, thereby ensuring that the first message can be successfully processed by the second node, and also ensuring the implementation of the ATSSS function, avoiding the second node from being unable to accurately distinguish the multiple access networks used by the terminal and causing communication problems.

In combination with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the first information is used to distinguish between multiple 3GPP access networks used by the terminal.

In combination with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, when the terminal accesses the core network through a first 3GPP access network and accesses the core network through a second 3GPP access network, the first information indicates the first 3GPP access network or the second 3GPP access network.

In combination with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the first node includes the terminal, and the second node includes a first core network function.

In combination with some embodiments of the second aspect. In some embodiments, the receiving a first message sent by the first node includes: receiving a PMFP Access Report message sent by the terminal, wherein the PMFP Access Report message is used to report to the first core network function whether the access network indicated by the first information is available.

In combination with some embodiments of the second aspect. In some embodiments, the receiving of the first message sent by the first node includes: receiving a PMFP UAD provision message sent by the terminal, wherein the PMFP UAD provision message is used to instruct the first core network function to divert downlink data through the access network indicated by the first information.

In combination with some embodiments of the second aspect. In some embodiments, the first information is used to indicate that downlink data transmitted to the terminal through the multiple access networks is split, and is also used to indicate a transmission ratio of each access network to transmit the downlink data;

The method further includes: distributing the downlink data through the access network indicated by the first information according to the ratio indicated by the first information.

In combination with some embodiments of the second aspect. In some embodiments, the first core network function is a user plane Function UPF, or Performance Measurement Function PMF.

In combination with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the first node includes a second core network function, and the second node includes a third core network function.

In combination with some embodiments of the second aspect. In some embodiments, the receiving of the first message sent by the first node includes: receiving a session management message sent by the second core network function, wherein the session management message is used to indicate to the third core network function the operation of performing a user plane connection and a control plane connection between the access network indicated by the first information and the terminal; the user plane connection is a connection for business data interaction between the terminal and the core network; the control plane connection is a connection for control signaling interaction between the terminal and the core network.

In combination with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the operation includes one of the following: a connection establishment operation; a connection modification operation; a connection release operation.

In combination with some embodiments of the second aspect. In some embodiments, when the terminal accesses the core network through a first 3GPP access network and accesses the core network through a second 3GPP access network, the first information indicates the type of wireless access network to which the first 3GPP access network or the second 3GPP access network belongs; wherein the type of wireless access network to which the first 3GPP access network belongs is a first wireless access network type, the type of wireless access network to which the second 3GPP access network belongs is a second wireless access network type, and the first wireless access network type is different from the second wireless access network type;

The method also includes: performing user plane connection and control plane connection operations with the terminal through the first 3GPP access network according to the first information indicating the first wireless access network type; or performing user plane connection and control plane connection operations with the terminal through the second 3GPP access network according to the first information indicating the second wireless access network type.

In combination with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the second core network function is a session management function SMF, and the third core network function is an access management function AMF or a user plane function UPF.

In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a first device, the device comprising:

The transceiver module is used to send a first message to the second node, where the first message includes first information, wherein the first information is used to distinguish multiple access networks used by the terminal.

In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a second device, the device comprising:

The transceiver module is used to receive a first message sent by a first node, where the first message includes first information, wherein the first information is used to distinguish between multiple access networks used by the terminal.

In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure proposes a first device, comprising: one or more processors; wherein the processor is used to call instructions to enable the first device to execute the access differentiation method described in the first aspect and the optional embodiment of the first aspect.

In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure proposes a second device, comprising: one or more processors; wherein the processor is used to call instructions to enable the second device to execute the access differentiation method described in the second aspect and the optional embodiment of the second aspect.

In the seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure proposes a communication device, which includes: one or more processors; one or more memories for storing instructions; wherein the processor is used to call the instructions so that the communication device executes the method described in the first and second aspects, and the optional embodiments of the first and second aspects.

In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a communication system, the communication system comprising: a first node and a second node; wherein the first node is configured to perform the first aspect and the second aspect, the first aspect and the second aspect The method described in the optional embodiment, the above-mentioned second node is configured to execute the method described in the first aspect and the second aspect, and the optional embodiments of the first aspect and the second aspect.

In a ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure proposes a storage medium, wherein the storage medium stores instructions. When the instructions are executed on a communication device, the communication device executes the method described in the first and second aspects, and the optional embodiments of the first and second aspects.

In a tenth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure proposes a program product. When the program product is executed by a communication device, the communication device executes the method described in the first and second aspects and the optional embodiments of the first and second aspects.

In an eleventh aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure proposes a computer program, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to execute the method as described in the first and second aspects, and the optional embodiments of the first and second aspects.

It is understandable that the first node, the second node, the communication device, the communication system, the storage medium, the program product, and the computer program are all used to execute the method proposed in the embodiment of the present disclosure. Therefore, the beneficial effects that can be achieved can refer to the beneficial effects in the corresponding method, which will not be repeated here.

The embodiments of the present disclosure propose access differentiation methods, devices, equipment, communication equipment and storage media. In some embodiments, the terms such as access differentiation method, information processing method, communication method, etc. can be replaced with each other, the terms such as first device, terminal, network device, access differentiation device, communication device, etc. can be replaced with each other, the terms such as second device, terminal, network device, access differentiation device, communication device, etc. can be replaced with each other, and the terms such as access differentiation system, communication system, etc. can be replaced with each other.

The embodiments of the present disclosure are not exhaustive, but are only illustrative of some embodiments, and are not intended to be a specific limitation on the scope of protection of the present disclosure. In the absence of contradiction, each step in a certain embodiment can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and the steps can be arbitrarily combined. For example, a solution after removing some steps in a certain embodiment can also be implemented as an independent embodiment, and the order of the steps in a certain embodiment can be arbitrarily exchanged. In addition, the optional embodiments in a certain embodiment can be arbitrarily combined; in addition, the embodiments can be arbitrarily combined, for example, some or all steps of different embodiments can be arbitrarily combined, and a certain embodiment can be arbitrarily combined with the optional embodiments of other embodiments.

In each embodiment of the present disclosure, unless otherwise specified or there is a logical conflict, the terms and/or descriptions between the embodiments are consistent and can be referenced to each other, and the technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form a new embodiment based on their internal logical relationships.

The terms used in the embodiments of the present disclosure are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present disclosure.

In the embodiments of the present disclosure, unless otherwise specified, elements expressed in the singular form, such as "one", "an", "the", "above", "said", "foregoing", "this", etc., may mean "one and only one", or may mean "one or more", "at least one", etc.

For example, when using articles such as "a", "an", "the" in English in translation, the noun following the article can be understood as a singular expression or a plural expression.

In the embodiments of the present disclosure, “plurality” refers to two or more.

In some embodiments, terms such as "at least one of", "one or more", "a plurality of", "multiple" and the like can be used interchangeably.

In some embodiments, the description methods such as "at least one of A and B", "A and/or B", "A in one case, B in another case", "in response to one case A, in response to another case B" etc. may be used according to the circumstances. The following technical solutions may be included: in some embodiments, A (A is executed independently of B); in some embodiments, B (B is executed independently of A); in some embodiments, execution is selected from A and B (A and B are selectively executed); in some embodiments, A and B (A and B are both executed). When there are more branches such as A, B, C, etc., the above is also similar.

In some embodiments, the recording method of "A or B" may include the following technical solutions according to the situation: in some embodiments, A (A is executed independently of B); in some embodiments, B (B is executed independently of A); in some embodiments, execution is selected from A and B (A and B are selectively executed). When there are more branches such as A, B, C, etc., the above is also similar.

The prefixes such as "first" and "second" in the embodiments of the present disclosure are only for distinguishing different description objects and do not constitute any restrictions on the position, order, priority, quantity or content of the description objects. For the statement of the description objects, please refer to the description in the context of the claims or embodiments, and no unnecessary restrictions should be constituted due to the use of prefixes.

For example, if the description object is "field", the ordinal number before "field" in "first field" and "second field" does not limit the position or order between "fields", "first" and "second" do not limit whether the "fields" they modify are in the same message, nor do they limit the order of "first field" and "second field". For another example, if the description object is "level", the ordinal number before "level" in "first level" and "second level" does not limit the priority between "levels". For another example, the number of description objects is not limited by ordinal numbers and can be one or more. For example, "first device" can be one or more. In addition, the objects modified by different prefixes can be the same or different. For example, if the description object is "device", "first device" and "second device" can be the same device or different devices, and their types can be the same or different. For another example, if the description object is "information", "first information" and "second information" can be the same information or different information, and their contents can be the same or different.

In some embodiments, “including A”, “comprising A”, “used to indicate A”, and “carrying A” can be interpreted as directly carrying A or indirectly indicating A.

In some embodiments, terms such as "in response to ...", "in response to determining ...", "in the case of ...", "at the time of ...", "when ...", "if ...", "if ...", etc. can be used interchangeably.

In some embodiments, terms such as "greater than", "greater than or equal to", "not less than", "more than", "more than or equal to", "not less than", "higher than", "higher than or equal to", "not lower than", and "above" can be replaced with each other, and terms such as "less than", "less than or equal to", "not greater than", "less than", "less than or equal to", "no more than", "lower than", "lower than or equal to", "not higher than", and "below" can be replaced with each other.

In some embodiments, devices and the like can be interpreted as physical or virtual, and their names are not limited to those in the embodiments.

The recorded names, terms such as "device", "equipment", "device", "circuit", "network element", "node", "function", "unit", "section", "system", "network", "chip", "chip system", "entity", and "subject" can be used interchangeably.

In some embodiments, "network" may be interpreted as devices included in the network (eg, access network equipment, core network equipment, etc.).

In some embodiments, “access network device (AN device)”, “radio access network device (RAN device)”, “base station (BS)”, “radio base station (radio base station)”, “fixed station (fixed station)”, “node (node)”, “access point (access point)”, “transmission point (TP)”, “reception point (reception point, RP)”, “transmission/reception point (transmission/reception point, TRP)”, “panel (panel)”, “antenna panel (antenna panel)”, “antenna array (antenna array)”, “cell (cell)”, “macro cell (macro cell)”, “small cell (small cell)”, “femto cell (femto cell)”, “micro cell (micro cell)” The terms "pico cell", "sector", "cell group", "serving cell", "carrier", "component carrier", and "bandwidth part (BWP)" may be used interchangeably.

In some embodiments, the terms "terminal", "terminal device", "user equipment (UE)", "user terminal", "mobile station (MS)", "mobile terminal (MT)", subscriber station, mobile unit, subscriber unit, wireless unit, remote unit, mobile device, wireless device, wireless communication device, remote device, mobile subscriber station, access terminal, mobile terminal, wireless terminal, remote terminal, handset, user agent, mobile client, client and the like can be used interchangeably.

In some embodiments, the access network device, the core network device, or the network device can be replaced by a terminal. For example, the various embodiments of the present disclosure can also be applied to a structure in which the communication between the access network device, the core network device, or the network device and the terminal is replaced by the communication between multiple terminals (for example, device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (V2X), etc.). In this case, it can also be set as a structure in which the terminal has all or part of the functions of the access network device. In addition, terms such as "uplink" and "downlink" can also be replaced by terms corresponding to communication between terminals (for example, "side"). For example, uplink channels, downlink channels, etc. can be replaced by side channels, and uplinks, downlinks, etc. can be replaced by side links.

In some embodiments, the terminal may be replaced by an access network device, a core network device, or a network device. In this case, the access network device, the core network device, or the network device may also be configured to have a structure that has all or part of the functions of the terminal.

In some embodiments, the acquisition of data, information, etc. may comply with the laws and regulations of the country where the data is obtained.

In some embodiments, data, information, etc. may be obtained with the user's consent.

In addition, each element, each row, or each column in the table of the embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented as an independent embodiment, and the combination of any elements, any rows, or any columns may also be implemented as an independent embodiment.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

As shown in Figure 1, the communication system 100 includes a terminal 101, an access network device 102, and a core network device 103.

In some embodiments, the terminal includes, for example, a mobile phone, a wearable device, an Internet of Things device, a car with communication function, a smart car, a tablet computer (Pad), a computer with wireless transceiver function, a virtual reality (VR) terminal device, an augmented reality (AR) terminal device, a wireless terminal device in industrial control (industrial control), a wireless terminal device in self-driving, a wireless terminal device in remote medical surgery, a wireless terminal device in a smart grid (smart grid), a wireless terminal device in transportation safety (transportation safety), a wireless terminal device in a smart city (smart city), and at least one of a wireless terminal device in a smart home (smart home), but is not limited to these.

In some embodiments, the access network device is, for example, a node or device that accesses a terminal to a wireless network. The access network device may include an evolved NodeB (eNB), a next generation evolved NodeB (ng-eNB), a next generation NodeB (gNB), a node B (NB), a home node B (HNB), a home evolved node B (HeNB), a wireless backhaul device, a radio network controller (RNC), At least one of a base station controller (BSC), a base transceiver station (BTS), a base band unit (BBU), a mobile switching center, a base station in a 6G communication system, an open base station (Open RAN), a cloud base station (Cloud RAN), a base station in other communication systems, an access node in a Wi-Fi system, and a satellite in a non-terrestrial network (NTN), but not limited thereto.

In some embodiments, the access network device can access the terminal to different types of access networks. For example, the access network device can access the terminal to a 3GPP access network or a non-3GPP access network.

In some embodiments, the access network device can access the terminal to a 3GPP access network belonging to a different wireless access network type. For example, the access network device can access the terminal to an NR access network or a satellite NR access network.

In some embodiments, the type of wireless access network to which the 3GPP access network belongs may specifically include, but is not limited to, at least one of the following: New Radio (NR), Low Earth Orbiting-New Radio (LEO-NR), Medium Earth Orbiting-New Radio (MEO-NR), Long Term Evolution (LTE), satellite NR, etc.

In some embodiments, the technical solution of the present disclosure may be applicable to the Open RAN architecture. In this case, the interfaces between access network devices or within access network devices involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure may become internal interfaces of Open RAN, and the processes and information interactions between these internal interfaces may be implemented through software or programs.

In some embodiments, the access network device may be composed of a centralized unit (central unit, CU) and a distributed unit (distributed unit, DU), wherein the CU may also be called a control unit (control unit). The CU-DU structure may be used to split the protocol layer of the access network device, with some functions of the protocol layer being centrally controlled by the CU, and the remaining part or all of the functions of the protocol layer being distributed in the DU, and the DU being centrally controlled by the CU, but not limited to this.

In some embodiments, the core network device 103 may be a device including one or more network elements, or may be a plurality of devices or a group of devices, each including all or part of the one or more network elements. The network element may be virtual or physical. The core network may include, for example, at least one of an Evolved Packet Core (EPC), a 5G Core Network (5GCN), and a Next Generation Core (NGC).

In some embodiments, the core network device may include at least one of the following: Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF); User Plane Function (UPF); Performance Measurement Function (PMF); Session Management Function (SMF); Unified Data Management (UDM).

In some embodiments, the first node may include one of the following: a terminal, an access network device, and a core network device. The second node may include one of the following: a terminal, an access network device, and a core network device. The first node and the second node may be different nodes in the communication system 100.

In some embodiments, the core network device may include at least one core network function. The first node and the second node may be any core network function.

In a possible implementation manner, the first node may include a terminal, and the second node may include a first core network function. The first core network function may include a user plane function or a performance measurement function.

In a possible implementation, the first node may include a second core network function, and the second node may include a third core network function, wherein the second core network function may be a session management function, and the third core network function may be an access and mobility management function or a user plane function.

It is understandable that the communication system described in the embodiment of the present disclosure is to more clearly illustrate the technical solution of the embodiment of the present disclosure, and does not constitute a limitation on the technical solution proposed in the embodiment of the present disclosure. It is known to those skilled in the art that with the evolution of the system architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solution proposed in the embodiment of the present disclosure is more suitable for the communication system of the present disclosure. Similar technical issues apply.

The following embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied to the communication system 100 shown in FIG1 , or part of the subject, but are not limited thereto. The subjects shown in FIG1 are examples, and the communication system may include all or part of the subjects in FIG1 , or may include other subjects other than FIG1 , and the number and form of the subjects are arbitrary, and the subjects may be physical or virtual, and the connection relationship between the subjects is an example, and the subjects may be connected or disconnected, and the connection may be in any manner, and may be a direct connection or an indirect connection, and may be a wired connection or a wireless connection.

The embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied to Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), LTE-Beyond (LTE-B), SUPER 3G, IMT-Advanced, the fourth generation mobile communication system (4G), the fifth generation mobile communication system (5G), 5G new radio (NR), Future Radio Access (FRA), New-Radio Access Technology (RAT), New Radio (NR), New radio access (NX), Future generation radio access (FX), G The present invention relates to a global system for mobile communications (GSM (registered trademark)), CDMA2000, Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.20, Ultra-WideBand (UWB), Bluetooth (registered trademark), Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) network, Device-to-Device (D2D) system, Machine-to-Machine (M2M) system, Internet of Things (IoT) system, Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X), satellite communication system, system using other communication methods, next generation system extended based on these, etc. In addition, a plurality of systems may be combined (for example, a combination of LTE or LTE-A and 5G, etc.) for application.

FIG2 is an interactive schematic diagram of an access differentiation method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG2 , the access differentiation method includes:

Step S201: A first node sends a first message to a second node.

In some embodiments, the first message may include first information.

In some embodiments, the first information may be used to distinguish between multiple access networks used by the terminal.

In some embodiments, the access method may further include:

Step S202: the second node receives the first message.

In some embodiments, when the terminal accesses the core network through at least one 3GPP access network and accesses the core network through at least one non-3GPP access network, the first information can be used to distinguish between the 3GPP access network and the non-3GPP access network used by the terminal.

In a possible implementation, the first information may be used to indicate the type of access network, wherein the type of access network may include a 3GPP access network and a non-3GPP access network.

In some embodiments, when the terminal accesses the core network through at least two 3GPP access networks, the first information may be used to distinguish between multiple 3GPP access networks used by the terminal.

In a possible implementation, the first information may be used to indicate the type of radio access network to which the 3GPP access network belongs. The type of radio access network to which the 3GPP access network belongs may specifically include, but is not limited to, at least one of the following: New Radio (NR), Low Earth Orbiting-New Radio (LEO-NR), Medium Earth Orbiting-New Radio (MEO-NR), Long Term Evolution (LTE), satellite NR, etc.

In some embodiments, the terminal accesses the core network through a first 3GPP access network and accesses the core network through a second 3GPP access network, and the first information may indicate the first 3GPP access network or the second 3GPP access network.

In some embodiments, the first node may include the terminal and the second node may include a first core network function.

In one possible implementation, the first core network function may be a user plane function (UPF) or a performance measurement function (PMF).

In some embodiments, the first node sending the first message to the second node may include: the terminal sending a performance measurement function protocol access availability report (PMFP Access Report) message to the first core network function. The PMFP Access Report message can be used to report to the first core network function whether the access network indicated by the first information is available.

In a possible implementation, the first information may specifically include: a first field used to indicate that the wireless access network type described in the 3GPP access network is a first wireless access network type or a second wireless access network type; and a second field used to indicate the availability or unavailability of the 3GPP access network.

In some embodiments, the first node sending a first message to the second node may include: the terminal sending a performance measurement function protocol user assisted data provision (PMFP UAD provision) message to the first core network function, wherein the PMFP UAD provision message is used to instruct the first core network function to divert downlink data through the access network indicated by the first information.

In a further embodiment, the first information may be used to indicate that downlink data transmitted to the terminal is split through the multiple access networks, and may also be used to indicate a transmission ratio of the downlink data transmitted by each access network.

In some embodiments, the first core network function may divert downlink data through the access network indicated by the first information according to the ratio indicated by the first information.

In some embodiments, the first node may include a second core network function and the second node may include a third core network function, wherein the second core network function is different from the third core network function.

In one possible implementation, the second core network function may be a session management function (SMF), and the third core network function may be an access and mobility management function (AMF) or UPF.

In some embodiments, a first node sends a first message to a second node, which may include: a second core network function sends a session management message to a third core network function, wherein the session management message is used to instruct the third core network function to perform user plane connection and control plane connection operations between the access network indicated by the first information and the terminal.

In the above embodiment, the user plane connection may be a connection for service data interaction between the terminal and the core network. The control plane connection may be a connection for control signaling interaction between the terminal and the core network.

In one implementation shown, the connection may include one of the following: N1 connection, N2 connection, UP (user plane) connection.

In one implementation shown, the operation may include one of the following: a connection establishment operation; a connection modification operation; or a connection release operation.

In a further embodiment, the terminal accesses the core network through the first 3GPP access network and When the second 3GPP access network accesses the core network, the first information may indicate the type of wireless access network to which the first 3GPP access network or the second 3GPP access network belongs. The type of wireless access network to which the first 3GPP access network belongs may be a first wireless access network type, the type of wireless access network to which the second 3GPP access network belongs may be a second wireless access network type, and the first wireless access network type is different from the second wireless access network type.

In a possible implementation manner, the first information may include at least: a first field for indicating that the radio access network type described in the 3GPP access network is the first radio access network type or the second radio access network type.

In some embodiments, the second core network function may indicate the first wireless access network type according to the first information, and perform user plane connection and control plane connection operations with the terminal through the first 3GPP access network; or, the second core network function may indicate the second wireless access network type according to the first information, and perform user plane connection and control plane connection operations with the terminal through the second 3GPP access network.

The communication method involved in the embodiment of the present disclosure may include at least one of steps S201 to 202. For example, step S201 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S202 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, and step S201+S202 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, but is not limited thereto.

In some embodiments, steps S201 and S202 may be performed in an interchangeable order or simultaneously.

In some embodiments, step S201 is optional, and one or more of these steps may be omitted or replaced in different embodiments.

In some embodiments, step S202 is optional, and one or more of these steps may be omitted or replaced in different embodiments.

In some embodiments, reference may be made to other optional embodiments described before or after the description corresponding to FIG. 2 .

In some embodiments, terminals and networks in a 5G system (5G System, 5GS) may support access traffic steering, splitting, switching (ATSSS) functions. Among them, access traffic steering means that new service traffic selects an access network and transmits service traffic on the selected access network; access traffic splitting means that service traffic of the same service is transmitted through multiple accesses; access traffic switching means that the traffic of an ongoing service is migrated from one access network to another access network in a way that can maintain the continuity of the service traffic.

The ATSSS function involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure may also be referred to as an ASSSS feature.

The ATSSS function can implement Multi-Access Protocol Data Unit (MA PDU) connection service. MA PDU connection service can be implemented by establishing MA PDU session, that is, PDU session has user plane resources on multiple access networks. Using ATSSS function helps to improve the reliability of data services and quality of service (QoS) (such as bandwidth).

In some embodiments, when a terminal registers to a core network through multiple access networks, the terminal may request to establish an MA PDU session to implement the ASSS function.

In one possible implementation, the terminal can register with the core network through a 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) access network and/or a non-3GPP (non-3GPP) access network, and then the terminal can request to establish an MA PDU session. After the MA PDU session is successfully established, and when there are user plane resources on both the 3GPP access network and the non-3GPP access network, the terminal can decide how to allocate uplink traffic between the two access networks based on the policies provided by the network (such as ATSSS rules); similarly, the UPF (User Plane Function) anchor point of the MA PDU session can be based on the policies provided by the network. (such as N4 rule), which determines how to distribute downlink traffic between the two access networks.

For example, Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system supporting the ATSSS function according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Fig. 3, by using a 3GPP access network and a non-3GPP access network at the same time, and two independent N3/N9 tunnels between RAN/AN (Radio Access Network) and PSA (PDU Session Anchor), service data can be transmitted between a terminal (ie, UE) and a data network (ie, server host).

In another possible implementation, the terminal can register to the core network through the dual 3GPP access network (also known as dual 3GPP access), and then the terminal can request to establish an MA PDU session, which is not repeated here.

In some embodiments, when a terminal registers with a core network through multiple access networks, both the terminal and the network need to distinguish different accesses, for example, 3GPP access and/or non-3GPP access, to implement the ATSSS function. However, there are some technical problems with the current method of distinguishing accesses.

In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure proposes an access differentiation method. Fig. 4 is a schematic flow chart of an access differentiation method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The access differentiation method shown in this embodiment may be executed by a first node.

As shown in FIG4 , the access differentiation method may include the following steps:

In step S401, a first message is sent to a second node.

In some embodiments, the first message may include first information, and the first information may be used to distinguish multiple access networks used by the terminal. The type of the access network may include a 3GPP access network and a non-3GPP access network.

For example, the first information may be an "access network differentiating information" field, and the first node may send a first message including the above field to the second node, so that the second node can distinguish between multiple access networks used by the terminal according to the "access network differentiating information" field included in the received first message.

It should be noted that the embodiment shown in FIG. 4 can be implemented independently or in combination with at least one other embodiment in the present disclosure. The specific selection can be made as needed, and the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

In some embodiments, the first node may include one of the following: a terminal, an access network device, a core network device. The core network device may include at least one core network function (NF). The first node may also include any core network function.

In some embodiments, the second node may include one of the following: a terminal, an access network device, a core network device. The core network device may include at least one core network function. The second node may also include any core network function. The first node and the second node are different nodes in the communication system.

In some embodiments, the first node may support ATSSS functionality.The second node may also support ATSSS functionality.

Optionally, the second node may receive the first message sent by the first node. In a further embodiment, the second node may distinguish multiple access networks used by the terminal according to the first information included in the first message.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a first node may send a first message including first information to a second node, and the first information may be used to distinguish multiple access networks used by a terminal. Accordingly, when a terminal accesses a core network through multiple access networks, since the message transmitted between the terminal and the network may be for any one or more of the multiple access networks used by the terminal, the first node may send a first message including first information to the second node through the first information. Indicates which access network the first message is for the terminal, so that the second node can distinguish the multiple access networks used by the terminal according to the first information, thereby ensuring that the first message can be successfully processed by the second node, and also ensuring the implementation of the ATSSS function, avoiding the second node being unable to accurately distinguish the multiple access networks used by the terminal and causing communication problems.

In some embodiments, when the terminal accesses the core network through at least one 3GPP access network and accesses the core network through at least one non-3GPP access network, the first information can be used to distinguish between the 3GPP access network and the non-3GPP access network used by the terminal.

In a possible implementation, the first information may be used to indicate the type of access network, wherein the type of access network may include a 3GPP access network and a non-3GPP access network.

For example, the first information may be an "access network differentiate information" field; when the value of this field is "3GPP", the first information may be used to indicate a 3GPP access network among multiple access networks used by the terminal; when the value of this field is "non-3GPP", the first information may be used to indicate a non-3GPP access network among multiple access networks used by the terminal.

In some embodiments, when the terminal accesses the core network through at least two 3GPP access networks, the first information may be used to distinguish between multiple 3GPP access networks used by the terminal.

In a possible implementation, the first information may be used to indicate the type of wireless access network to which the 3GPP access network belongs. The type of wireless access network to which the 3GPP access network belongs may specifically include, but is not limited to, at least one of the following: New Radio (NR), Low Earth Orbiting-New Radio (LEO-NR), Medium Earth Orbiting-New Radio (MEO-NR), Long Term Evolution (LTE), satellite NR, etc.

It should be noted that, in the embodiments involved in the present disclosure, the type of wireless access network to which the 3GPP access network belongs can also be described as the type of 3GPP access network.

For example, the first information may be an "access network differentiate information" field; when the value of this field is "NR", the first information may be used to indicate an NR access network among multiple 3GPP access networks used by the terminal; when the value of this field is "satellite NR", the first information may be used to indicate a satellite NR access network among multiple 3GPP access networks used by the terminal.

It should be noted that, in the examples of the present disclosure, the specific value of the "access network differentiate information" field is merely an exemplary description and does not represent a special limitation on the present disclosure. For example, the "access network differentiate information" field may also be set to "3GPP-NR", which is used to indicate an NR access network among multiple 3GPP access networks used by the terminal.

In another possible implementation, in addition to the type of wireless access network to which the 3GPP access network belongs, other methods may be used to distinguish different 3GPP access networks. For example, the terminal and the network may agree on identifiers or serial numbers corresponding to different types of 3GPP access networks, and the first information may be used to indicate the identifier or serial number corresponding to the 3GPP access network.

In the above embodiment, since the access types of the multiple access networks used by the terminal are the same, the first information is only used to indicate the access type of the access network, which is not sufficient to distinguish the multiple 3GPP access networks used by the terminal. Accordingly, the first node can indicate to the second node through the first information which 3GPP access network used by the terminal the first message is for, so that the second node can distinguish the multiple 3GPP access networks used by the terminal according to the first information, thereby ensuring that the first message can be successfully processed by the second node, and also ensuring the implementation of the ATSSS function, avoiding the second node being unable to accurately distinguish the multiple 3GPP access networks used by the terminal and causing communication problems.

In some embodiments, the first information may be a newly defined field. For example, the first information may be It is the newly defined "access network differentiation information" field.

In some embodiments, the first information may also be extended using existing fields, or may be represented using a combination of existing information. For example, the first information may be obtained by combining the "access type (access network type)" and "RAT type (radio access technology type)" fields.

In some embodiments, the terminal and the network using the dual 3GPP access network are required to support the ASSS function.

In a further embodiment, the terminal accesses the core network through a first 3GPP access network and accesses the core network through a second 3GPP access network, and the first information may indicate the first 3GPP access network or the second 3GPP access network.

For example, when the terminal accesses the 5G core network through the NR access network and the satellite NR access network, the first 3GPP access network may be the NR access network, the second 3GPP access network may be the satellite NR access network, and the first information may be used to indicate the NR access network or the satellite NR access network.

In some embodiments, the first node may include the terminal, and the second node may include a first core network function. The terminal may send the first information to the network to inform the network of which access network the operation related to the first message is for the terminal.

In one possible implementation, the first core network function may be UPF (User Plane Function) or PMF (Performance Measurement Function).

In some embodiments, sending the first message to the second node may include sending a PMFP Access Report (Performance Measurement Function Protocol Access Availability Report) message to the first core network function.

In some embodiments, the PMFP Access Report message can be used to report to the first core network function whether the access network indicated by the first information is available.

For example, when the terminal accesses the core network through the first 3GPP access network and accesses the core network through the second 3GPP access network, the terminal can send a PMFP Access Report message to the UPF or PMF, wherein the first information included in the PMFP Access Report message can be used to indicate at least one of the following: the first 3GPP access network is available, the first 3GPP access network is unavailable, the second 3GPP access network is available, and the second 3GPP access network is unavailable.

In a possible implementation, the first information may specifically include: a first field used to indicate that the wireless access network type described in the 3GPP access network is a first wireless access network type or a second wireless access network type; and a second field used to indicate the availability or unavailability of the 3GPP access network.

For example, when the value of the first field is "NR" and the value of the second field is "availability", the first information may indicate that the 3GPP access network of type "NR" used by the terminal is available.

For example, when the value of the first field is "LEO-NR" and the value of the second field is "unavailability", the first information may indicate that the 3GPP access network of the type "LEO-NR" used by the terminal is unavailable.

In a possible implementation, before sending the PMFP Access Report message to the first core network function, the method may further include: receiving measurement assistance information sent by the first core network function; and detecting the availability of the access network in response to the measurement assistance information. The measurement assistance information may be used to assist the terminal in determining which measurements need to be performed in the first 3GPP access network and the second 3GPP access network, and whether a measurement report needs to be sent to the network.

In some embodiments, in addition to reporting to the first core network function whether the access network is available, the terminal may also report to the first core network function a performance measurement report of the access network, which will not be repeated herein. State.

In some embodiments, sending the first message to the second node may include: sending a PMFP UAD provision (Performance Measurement Function Protocol User Assisted Data Provision) message to the first core network function, wherein the PMFP UAD provision message is used to instruct the first core network function to divert downlink data through the access network indicated by the first information.

For example, when the terminal accesses the core network through a first 3GPP access network and accesses the core network through a second 3GPP access network, the terminal can send a PMFP UAD provision message to the UPF or PMF, wherein the first information included in the PMFP UAD provision message can be used to indicate at least one of the following: a first transmission ratio of downlink data transmitted by the first 3GPP access network and a second transmission ratio of downlink data transmitted by the second 3GPP access network.

In a further embodiment, the first information may be used to indicate that downlink data transmitted to the terminal is split through the multiple access networks, and may also be used to indicate a transmission ratio of the downlink data transmitted by each access network.

For example, when the value of the first information is "NR=70%, LEO-NR=30%", the first information may indicate that the terminal expects UPF or PMF to divert downlink data transmitted to the terminal through dual 3GPP access, wherein the transmission ratio of downlink data transmitted by the 3GPP access network of type "NR" used by the terminal is 70%, and the transmission ratio of downlink data transmitted by the 3GPP access network of type "LEO-NR" used by the terminal is 30%.

In some embodiments, the first node may include a second core network function, and the second node may include a third core network function, wherein the second core network function is different from the third core network function. One NF may send the first information to another NF to notify the other NF that the operation related to the first message is for which access network used by the terminal.

In one possible implementation, the second core network function may be SMF (Session Management Function), and the third core network function may be AMF (Access and Mobility Management Function) or UPF.

In some embodiments, sending a first message to the second node may include: sending a session management message to the third core network function, wherein the session management message is used to instruct the third core network function to perform user plane connection and control plane connection operations between the access network indicated by the first information and the terminal.

In the above embodiment, the user plane connection may be a connection for service data interaction between the terminal and the core network. The control plane connection may be a connection for control signaling interaction between the terminal and the core network.

In one implementation shown, the connection may include one of the following: N1 connection, N2 connection, UP (user plane) connection.

In one implementation shown, the operation may include one of the following: a connection establishment operation; a connection modification operation; or a connection release operation.

In a further embodiment, when the terminal accesses the core network through a first 3GPP access network and accesses the core network through a second 3GPP access network, the first information may indicate the type of wireless access network to which the first 3GPP access network or the second 3GPP access network belongs. The type of wireless access network to which the first 3GPP access network belongs may be a first wireless access network type, the type of wireless access network to which the second 3GPP access network belongs may be a second wireless access network type, and the first wireless access network type is different from the second wireless access network type.

For example, when the terminal accesses the core network through the first 3GPP access network and accesses the core network through the second 3GPP access network, the SMF may send a first A Namf_Communication_N1N2MessageTransfer message and a second Namf_Communication_N1N2MessageTransfer message, wherein the first Namf_Communication_N1N2MessageTransfer message is used to instruct the AMF to establish an N2 connection with the first 3GPP access network, and the second Namf_Communication_N1N2MessageTransfer message is used to instruct the AMF to establish an N2 connection with the second 3GPP access network.

In a possible implementation manner, the first information may include at least: a first field for indicating that the radio access network type described in the 3GPP access network is the first radio access network type or the second radio access network type.

For example, when the value of the first field is "NR", the first information may indicate that the N2 session management information contained in the first message is sent to a 3GPP access network of type "NR" used by the terminal.

For example, when the value of the first field is "LEO-NR", the first information may indicate that the N2 session management information contained in the first message is sent to a 3GPP access network of type "LEO-NR" used by the terminal.

It should be noted that in the above embodiment, the second core network function is SMF and the third core network function is AMF, which is only an exemplary description. In the connection processing operation involving the user plane connection, the third core network function can be UPF, and the detailed process is not repeated here.

An optional embodiment of the method according to the first aspect is described below in conjunction with Figure 5. Figure 5 is an interactive schematic diagram showing an access differentiation method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

As shown in Figure 5, after establishing the MA PDU session, the terminal can report to the network whether the specified access network is available.

In some embodiments, the first node may include a terminal (UE), and the second node may include a user plane function (UPF) or a performance measurement function (PMF).

In some embodiments, in step 1, the terminal may register with the 5GC through the NR access network, where the NR access network may be the first 3GPP access network.

In some embodiments, in step 2, the terminal may register with the 5GC through a satellite NR access network. In one implementation shown, the terminal registers with the same PLMN as the NR access network through a satellite NR access network. The satellite NR access network may be a second 3GPP access network.

In some embodiments, in step 3, if the terminal has registered to 5GC through dual 3GPP access, it is necessary to establish an MA PDU session between the terminal and UPF to implement the ATSSS function. An MA PDU session ID may be assigned to the session. For the specific process of establishing an MA PDU session between the terminal and UPF, please refer to the relevant technology, which will not be described in detail in this disclosure.

In a possible implementation, the AMF may send a PDU Session Establishment Accept message to the terminal through the first 3GPP access network and the second 3GPP access network. The PDU Session Establishment Accept information may include measurement assistance information. The measurement assistance information may include an IP address of the PMF (PMF IP address) and an access availability report indicator (AARI). The IP address of the PMF may be used to indicate to the terminal the reporting address of the measurement report of the first 3GPP access network and/or the second 3GPP access network. The access availability report indicator may be used to instruct the terminal to report to the network whether the access network is available.

For example, in step 3a, the AMF may send a PDU Session Establishment Accept message to the terminal via the NR access network; and, in step 3b, the AMF may send a PDU Session Establishment Accept message to the terminal via the satellite NR access network. There is no precedence relationship between the execution order of step 3a and step 3b.

In some embodiments, the first message may be a PMFP Access Report message.

In some embodiments, in step 4, the terminal may send a PMFP Access Report message to the UPF. The PMFP Access Report message may include first information. The first information may include a first field for distinguishing the first 3GPP access network from the second 3GPP access network, and a second field for indicating whether the corresponding 3GPP access network is available.

For example, if the terminal detects that the second 3GPP access network is unavailable, the value of the first field can be determined as "satellite NR", and the value of the second field can be determined as "unavailability"; further, the terminal can send a PMFP Access Report message containing the above-mentioned first information to the UPF or PMF through any user plane (UP) connection of the MA PDU session.

In some embodiments, after receiving the PMFP Access Report message, the UPF or PMF may create a PMFP ACKNOWLEDGEMENT (Performance Measurement Function Protocol Acknowledgement) message and may send the PMFP ACKNOWLEDGEMENT message to the terminal.

In some embodiments, the UPF may send a PMFP ACKNOWLEDGEMENT message to the terminal.

In a possible implementation, the UPF may send a PMFP ACKNOWLEDGEMENT message to the terminal by receiving an access of a PMFP Access Report message. The access of receiving the PMFP Access Report message may be an NR access network or a satellite NR access network.

An optional embodiment of the method according to the first aspect is described below in conjunction with Fig. 6. Fig. 6 is an interaction diagram showing another access differentiation method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

As shown in Figure 6, after establishing the MA PDU session, the terminal can request the network to configure a diversion strategy for downlink data.

In some embodiments, the first node may include a terminal (UE), and the second node may include a user plane function (UPF) or a performance measurement function (PMF).

In some embodiments, in step 1, the UE may register with the 5GC through the NR access network, where the NR access network may be the first 3GPP access network.

In some embodiments, in step 2, the terminal may register with the 5GC through a satellite NR access network. In one implementation shown, the terminal registers with the same PLMN as the NR access network through a satellite NR access network. The satellite NR access network may be a second 3GPP access network.

In some embodiments, in step 3, if the terminal has registered to 5GC through dual 3GPP access, it is necessary to establish an MA PDU session between the terminal and UPF to implement the ATSSS function. For the specific process of establishing an MA PDU session between the terminal and UPF, please refer to the relevant technology, which will not be described in detail in this disclosure.

In a possible implementation, the AMF may send a PDU Session Establishment Accept message to the terminal through the first 3GPP access network and the second 3GPP access network. The PDU Session Establishment Accept information may include measurement assistance information. The measurement assistance information may include an IP address of the PMF (PMF IP address) and an access availability report indicator (AARI). The IP address of the PMF may be used to indicate to the terminal the reporting address of the measurement report of the first 3GPP access network and/or the second 3GPP access network. The access availability report indicator may be used to instruct the terminal to report to the network whether the access network is available.

For example, in step 3a, the AMF may send a PDU Session Establishment Accept message to the terminal via the NR access network; and in step 3b, the AMF may send a PDU Session Establishment Accept message to the terminal via the satellite NR access network. Steps 3a and 3b are executed in no particular order. Post-relationship.

In some embodiments, the first message may be a PMFP UAD provision message. In order to initiate terminal assistance data provision, the terminal may send a PMFP UAD provision message to the UPF or PMF.

In some embodiments, in step 4, the terminal may send a PMFP UAD provision message to the UPF or PMF.

In some embodiments, the PMFP UAD provision message may include first information, and the first information may be used to indicate to the UPF or PMF to divert downlink data through the 3GPP access network indicated by the first information. The first information may be used to indicate at least one of the following: a first 3GPP access network and a corresponding first ratio, and a second 3GPP access network and a corresponding second ratio.

For example, the UE expects to use a downlink data distribution, such as transmitting 70% of the downlink data through the NR access network and 30% of the downlink data through the satellite NR access network. The UE may send a PMFP UAD provision message to the UPF, the PMFP UAD provision message including a downlink distribution information element (DL distribution IE) carrying the downlink data distribution, which may be applied by the UPF to all downlink data. The downlink distribution information element shall indicate that 70% of the downlink data is transmitted through the NR access network and 30% of the downlink data is transmitted through the satellite NR access network.

It should be noted that, in the above embodiments, the downlink data distribution may also be described as downlink traffic distribution, downlink service traffic distribution, etc.

In some embodiments, the UPF or PMF may receive a PMFP UAD provision message.

In some embodiments, after receiving the PMFP UAD provision message, the UPF or PMF may align the downlink data distribution of all downlink data according to the downlink distribution information unit included in the PMFP UAD provision message. Further, the UPF or PMF may create a PMFP UAD provision complete message and may return it to the UE.

In some embodiments, in step 5, the UPF or PMF may send a PMFP UAD provision complete message to the terminal.

An optional embodiment of the method according to the first aspect is described below in conjunction with Fig. 7. Fig. 7 is an interactive schematic diagram showing another access differentiation method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

As shown in Figure 7, SMF can notify AMF through which 3GPP access to establish a UP connection and establish an MA PDU session.

In some embodiments, the first node may include a session management function (SMF) and the second node may include an access and mobility management function (AMF).

In some embodiments, in step 1, the terminal may register with the 5GC through the NR access network, where the NR access network may be the first 3GPP access network.

In some embodiments, in step 2, the terminal may register with the 5GC through a satellite NR access network. In one implementation shown, the terminal registers with the same PLMN as the NR access network through a satellite NR access network. The satellite NR access network may be a second 3GPP access network.

In some embodiments, the UE may initiate a PDU session establishment process based on a UE request by sending an uplink NAS message. The uplink NAS message may include: a request type as "MA PDU Request" and the UE's ATSSS policy in a PDU Session Establishment Request message. The PDU Session Establishment Request message may be sent via the first 3GPP access network or the second 3GPP access network.

In some embodiments, in step 3, the terminal may send a PDU Session Establishment Request message to the AMF.

In a possible implementation, the example of UE sending a PDU Session Establishment Request message to AMF through NR access is used for explanation.

In some embodiments, if the AMF supports MA PDU sessions, the AMF may select an SMF that supports MA PDU sessions. In step 4, the AMF may send a Nsmf_PDUSession_CreateSMContext Request message to the SMF. The Nsmf_PDUSession_CreateSMContext Request message may include indication information indicating that the request type is "MA PDU request", which is used to indicate to the SMF that the request is for an MA PDU session. In addition, the AMF may also indicate to the SMF whether the UE is registered on two access networks. The SMF obtains from the session management contract data whether the user is allowed to establish an MA PDU session.

In one possible implementation, if a dynamic PCC is deployed, the SMF can request policy control for the MA PDU session from the PCF (Policy Control Function).

In some embodiments, in step 5, the SMF may select the UPF and may establish an N4 session with the UPF. The SMF may instruct the UPF to activate a steer function, such as MPTCP, MPQUIC. The UPF may allocate an IP address associated with the ATSSS to the UE and return it to the SMF.

In some embodiments, in step 6, the SMF may send a Namf_Communication_N1N2MessageTransfer message to the AMF.

In some embodiments, the Namf_Communication_N1N2MessageTransfer message sent by the SMF to the AMF may include an indication of "MA PDU session accepted" and indicate to the AMF that the N2 session management information contained in the message should be sent to the NR access network.

In some embodiments, the AMF may mark the PDU session as an MA PDU session based on the received "MA PDU session accepted" indication information.

In some embodiments, in step 7, the AMF may send N2 session management information to the NR access network. And, in step 8, the AMF may send a downlink NAS message to the UE through the NR access network. The downlink NAS message may include an MA PDU session ID and a PDU session establishment accept message.

In some embodiments, the UE may receive a PDU session establishment accept message, which may indicate to the UE that its requested MA PDU session has been successfully established. The PDU session establishment accept message may include the ASSS rules for the MA PDU session generated by the SMF.

In some embodiments, if in step 4, the AMF notifies the SMF that the UE is registered on both accesses, then in step 9, the SMF may also send a Namf_Communication_N1N2MessageTransfer message to the AMF, which may include indication information of "MA PDU session accepted" and indicate to the AMF that the N2 session management information contained in the message should also be sent to the satellite NR access network. The Namf_Communication_N1N2MessageTransfer message does not include the N1 session management container for the UE. Accordingly, in step 10, the AMF may send the N2 session management information to the satellite NR access network. And, in step 11, the AMF may send a downlink NAS message to the UE via the satellite NR access network.

In some embodiments, the downlink NAS message may include a MA PDU session ID and a PDU session establishment accept message.

After the above steps are completed, an MA PDU session is established through the NR access network and the satellite NR access network. There are two N3 tunnels between the UPF (PSA) and NR/satellite NR for MA PDU sessions.

It should be noted that, in some embodiments, steps 6-8 and steps 9-10 shown in FIG. 7 may be executed in an exchanged order or simultaneously.

In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure proposes an access differentiation method. Figure 8 is a schematic flow chart of another access differentiation method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The access differentiation method shown in this embodiment may be executed by a second node.

As shown in FIG8 , the access differentiation method may include the following steps:

In step S801, a first message sent by a first node is received.

In some embodiments, the first message may include first information, and the first information may be used to distinguish multiple access networks used by the terminal. The type of the access network may include a 3GPP access network and a non-3GPP access network.

For example, the first information may be an "access network differentiating information" field; the second node may receive the first message sent by the first node, and may distinguish between multiple access networks used by the terminal according to the "access network differentiating information" field contained in the first message.

It should be noted that the embodiment shown in FIG. 8 can be implemented independently or in combination with at least one other embodiment in the present disclosure. The specific selection can be made as needed, and the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

In some embodiments, the first node may include one of the following: a terminal, an access network device, a core network device. The core network device may include at least one core network function (NF). The first node may also include any core network function.

In some embodiments, the second node may include one of the following: a terminal, an access network device, a core network device. The core network device may include at least one core network function (NF). The second node may also include any core network function. The first node and the second node are different nodes in the communication system.

In some embodiments, the first node may support ATSSS functionality.The second node may also support ATSSS functionality.

Optionally, the first node may send a first message to the second node.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a second node may receive a first message including first information sent by a first node, and the first information may be used to distinguish between multiple access networks used by a terminal. Accordingly, in the case where a terminal accesses a core network through multiple access networks, since the message transmitted between the terminal and the network may be for any one or more of the multiple access networks used by the terminal, the first node may indicate to the second node through the first information which access network the first message is for, so that the second node may distinguish between the multiple access networks used by the terminal based on the first information, thereby ensuring that the first message can be successfully processed by the second node, and also ensuring the implementation of the ATSSS function, thereby avoiding the second node being unable to accurately distinguish between the multiple access networks used by the terminal and causing communication problems.

In some embodiments, when the terminal accesses the core network through at least one 3GPP access network and accesses the core network through at least one non-3GPP access network, the first information can be used to distinguish between the 3GPP access network and the non-3GPP access network used by the terminal.

In a possible implementation, the first information may be used to indicate the type of access network, wherein the type of access network may include a 3GPP access network and a non-3GPP access network.

For example, the first information may be a field of "access network differentiation information"; When the value of the segment is "3GPP", the first information can be used to indicate a 3GPP access network among multiple access networks used by the terminal; when the value of this field is "non-3GPP", the first information can be used to indicate a non-3GPP access network among multiple access networks used by the terminal.

In some embodiments, when the terminal accesses the core network through at least two 3GPP access networks, the first information may be used to distinguish between multiple 3GPP access networks used by the terminal.

In a possible implementation, the first information may be used to indicate the type of wireless access network to which the 3GPP access network belongs. The type of wireless access network to which the 3GPP access network belongs may specifically include but is not limited to at least one of the following: NR, LEO-NR, MEO-NR, LTE, satellite NR, etc.

For example, the first information may be an "access network differentiate information" field; when the value of this field is "NR", the first information may be used to indicate an NR access network among multiple 3GPP access networks used by the terminal; when the value of this field is "satellite NR", the first information may be used to indicate a satellite NR access network among multiple 3GPP access networks used by the terminal.

In another possible implementation, in addition to the type of wireless access network to which the 3GPP access network belongs, other methods may be used to distinguish different 3GPP access networks. For example, the terminal and the network may agree on identifiers or serial numbers corresponding to different types of 3GPP access networks, and the first information may be used to indicate the identifier or serial number corresponding to the 3GPP access network.

In the above embodiment, since the access types of the multiple access networks used by the terminal are the same, the first information is only used to indicate the access type of the access network, which is not sufficient to distinguish the multiple 3GPP access networks used by the terminal. Accordingly, the first node can indicate to the second node through the first information which 3GPP access network used by the terminal the first message is for, so that the second node can distinguish the multiple 3GPP access networks used by the terminal according to the first information, thereby ensuring that the first message can be successfully processed by the second node, and also ensuring the implementation of the ATSSS function, avoiding the second node being unable to accurately distinguish the multiple 3GPP access networks used by the terminal and causing communication problems.

In some embodiments, the first information may be a newly defined field. For example, the first information may be a newly defined "access network differentiation information" field.

In some embodiments, the first information may also be an extension of an existing field, or a combination of existing information. For example, the first information may be the "access network differentiation information" field newly defined in Rel-19. For example, the first information may be a combination of the "access type (access network type)" field and the "RAT type (radio access technology type)" field.

In some embodiments, the terminal and the network using dual 3GPP access networks need to support the ATSSS function. In a further embodiment, the terminal accesses the core network through a first 3GPP access network and accesses the core network through a second 3GPP access network, and the first information may indicate the first 3GPP access network or the second 3GPP access network.

For example, when the terminal accesses the 5G core network through the NR access network and the satellite NR access network, the first 3GPP access network may be the NR access network, the second 3GPP access network may be the satellite NR access network, and the first information may be used to indicate the NR access network or the satellite NR access network.

In some embodiments, the first node may include the terminal, and the second node may include a first core network function. The terminal may send the first information to the network to inform the network of which access network the operation related to the first message is for the terminal.

In a possible implementation, the first core network function may be UPF or PMF.

In some embodiments, the receiving of the first message sent by the first node may include: receiving a PMFP Access Report message sent by the terminal. The PMFP Access Report message is used to send the first The core network function reports whether the access network indicated by the first information is available.

For example, when the terminal accesses the core network through the first 3GPP access network and accesses the core network through the second 3GPP access network, the terminal can send a PMFP Access Report message to the UPF or PMF, wherein the first information contained in the PMFP Access Report message can be used to indicate at least one of the following: the first 3GPP access network is available, the first 3GPP access network is unavailable, the second 3GPP access network is available, and the second 3GPP access network is unavailable. The UPF or PMF can determine whether the first 3GPP access network and/or the second 3GPP access network indicated by the first information are available based on the received PMFP Access Report message.

In a possible implementation, the first information may specifically include: a first field used to indicate that the wireless access network type described in the 3GPP access network is a first wireless access network type or a second wireless access network type; and a second field used to indicate the availability or unavailability of the 3GPP access network.

For example, when the value of the first field is "NR" and the value of the second field is "availability", the first information may indicate that the 3GPP access network of type "NR" used by the terminal is available.

For example, when the value of the first field is "LEO-NR" and the value of the second field is "unavailability", the first information may indicate that the 3GPP access network of the type "LEO-NR" used by the terminal is unavailable.

In a possible implementation, before receiving the PMFP Access Report message sent by the terminal, the method may further include: sending measurement assistance information to the terminal. The measurement assistance information may be used to assist the terminal in determining which measurements need to be performed in the first 3GPP access network and the second 3GPP access network, and whether a measurement report needs to be sent to the network.

In some embodiments, in addition to requiring the terminal to report whether the access network is available, the first core network function may also require the terminal to report a performance measurement report of the access network, etc., which will not be repeated here.

In some embodiments, the receiving of the first message sent by the first node may include: receiving a PMFP UAD provision message sent by the terminal, wherein the PMFP UAD provision message is used to instruct the first core network function to divert downlink data through the access network indicated by the first information.

For example, when the terminal accesses the core network through a first 3GPP access network and accesses the core network through a second 3GPP access network, the terminal can send a PMFP UAD provision message to the UPF or PMF, wherein the first information included in the PMFP UAD provision message can be used to indicate at least one of the following: a first transmission ratio of downlink data transmitted by the first 3GPP access network and a second transmission ratio of downlink data transmitted by the second 3GPP access network.

In a further embodiment, the first information may be used to indicate that downlink data transmitted to the terminal through the multiple access networks is split, and may also be used to indicate a transmission ratio of each access network for transmitting the downlink data.

In a further embodiment, the method may further include: according to the ratio indicated by the first information, offloading the downlink data through the access network indicated by the first information.

For example, when the value of the first information is "NR=70%, LEO-NR=30%", the first information may indicate that the terminal expects UPF or PMF to divert downlink data transmitted to the terminal through dual 3GPP access, wherein the transmission ratio of downlink data transmitted by the 3GPP access network of type "NR" used by the terminal is 70%, and the transmission ratio of downlink data transmitted by the 3GPP access network of type "LEO-NR" used by the terminal is 30%.

In some embodiments, the first node may include a second core network function, and the second node may include a third core network function, wherein the second core network function is different from the third core network function. One NF may send the first information to another NF to notify the other NF that the operation related to the first message is for which access network used by the terminal.

In one possible implementation, the second core network function may be SMF (Session Management Function), and the third core network function may be AMF (Access and Mobility Management Function) or UPF.

In some embodiments, the receiving of the first message sent by the first node may include: receiving a session management message sent by the second core network function, wherein the session management message is used to instruct the third core network function to perform user plane connection and control plane connection operations between the access network indicated by the first information and the terminal.

In the above embodiment, the user plane connection may be a connection for service data interaction between the terminal and the core network. The control plane connection may be a connection for control signaling interaction between the terminal and the core network.

In one implementation shown, the connection may include one of the following: an N1 connection, an N2 connection, and an UP connection.

In one implementation shown, the operation may include one of the following: a connection establishment operation; a connection modification operation; or a connection release operation.

In a further embodiment, when the terminal accesses the core network through a first 3GPP access network and accesses the core network through a second 3GPP access network, the first information may indicate the type of wireless access network to which the first 3GPP access network or the second 3GPP access network belongs. The type of wireless access network to which the first 3GPP access network belongs may be a first wireless access network type, the type of wireless access network to which the second 3GPP access network belongs may be a second wireless access network type, and the first wireless access network type is different from the second wireless access network type.

For example, when the terminal accesses the core network through the first 3GPP access network and accesses the core network through the second 3GPP access network, the SMF can send a first Namf_Communication_N1N2MessageTransfer message and a second Namf_Communication_N1N2MessageTransfer message to the AMF, wherein the first Namf_Communication_N1N2MessageTransfer message is used to instruct the AMF to establish an N2 connection with the first 3GPP access network, and the second Namf_Communication_N1N2MessageTransfer message is used to instruct the AMF to establish an N2 connection with the second 3GPP access network.

In a possible implementation manner, the first information may include at least: a first field for indicating that the radio access network type described in the 3GPP access network is the first radio access network type or the second radio access network type.

For example, when the value of the first field is "NR", the first information may indicate that the N2 session management information contained in the first message is sent to a 3GPP access network of type "NR" used by the terminal.

For example, when the value of the first field is "LEO-NR", the first information may indicate that the N2 session management information contained in the first message is sent to a 3GPP access network of type "LEO-NR" used by the terminal.

In some embodiments, the names of information, etc. are not limited to the names recorded in the embodiments, and terms such as "information", "message", "signal", "signaling", "report", "configuration", "indication", "instruction", "command", "channel", "parameter", "domain", "field", "symbol", "symbol", "code element", "codebook", "codeword", "codepoint", "bit", "data", "program", and "chip" can be used interchangeably.

In some embodiments, terms such as "moment", "time point", "time", "time position" and the like may be used. The terms "duration", "period", "time window", "window" and "time" can be used interchangeably.

In some embodiments, terms such as "component carrier (CC)", "cell", "frequency carrier", and "carrier frequency" can be used interchangeably.

In some embodiments, "obtain", "obtain", "get", "receive", "transmit", "bidirectional transmission", "send and/or receive" can be interchangeable, and can be interpreted as receiving from other entities, obtaining from protocols, obtaining from high levels, obtaining by self-processing, autonomous implementation, etc.

In some embodiments, terms such as "send", "transmit", "report", "send", "transmit", "bidirectional transmission", "send and/or receive" can be used interchangeably.

Corresponding to the aforementioned embodiment of the access differentiation method, the present disclosure also provides embodiments of a first device and a second device.

An embodiment of the present disclosure further proposes a first device, comprising: one or more processors; wherein the first device is used to execute the access differentiation method described in the first aspect and the optional embodiments of the first aspect.

Fig. 9 is a schematic block diagram of a first device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Fig. 9 , the first device 900 includes a transceiver module 901 .

In some embodiments, the transceiver module is used to send a first message to the second node, where the first message includes first information, wherein the first information is used to distinguish between multiple access networks used by the terminal.

In some embodiments, the first information is used to distinguish between multiple 3GPP access networks used by the terminal.

In some embodiments, when the terminal accesses the core network through a first 3GPP access network and accesses the core network through a second 3GPP access network, the first information indicates the first 3GPP access network or the second 3GPP access network.

In some embodiments, the first node comprises the terminal and the second node comprises a first core network function.

In some embodiments, the transceiver module includes:

The first sending submodule is used to send a performance measurement function protocol access report PMFP Access Report message to the first core network function, wherein the PMFP Access Report message is used to report to the first core network function whether the access network indicated by the first information is available.

In some embodiments, the transceiver module includes:

The second sending submodule is used to send a Performance Measurement Function Protocol User Assistance Data Provision (PMFP UAD) provision message to the first core network function, wherein the PMFP UAD provision message is used to instruct the first core network function to divert downlink data through the access network indicated by the first information.

In some embodiments, the first information is used to indicate that downlink data transmitted to the terminal is split through the multiple access networks, and is also used to indicate a transmission ratio of each access network for transmitting the downlink data.

In some embodiments, the first core network function is a user plane function UPF, or a performance measurement function PMF.

In some embodiments, the first node includes a second core network function and the second node includes a third core network function.

In some embodiments, the transceiver module includes:

The third sending submodule is used to send a session management message to the third core network function, wherein the session management message is used to instruct the third core network function to perform user plane connection and control plane connection operations between the access network indicated by the first information and the terminal; the user plane connection is a connection for business data interaction between the terminal and the core network; the control plane connection is a connection for control signaling interaction between the terminal and the core network.

In some embodiments, the operation includes one of the following: a connection establishment operation; a connection modification operation; a connection release operation.

In some embodiments, when the terminal accesses the core network through a first 3GPP access network and accesses the core network through a second 3GPP access network, the first information indicates the wireless access network type to which the first 3GPP access network or the second 3GPP access network belongs; wherein the wireless access network type to which the first 3GPP access network belongs is a first wireless access network type, and the wireless access network type to which the second 3GPP access network belongs is a second wireless access network type, and the first wireless access network type is different from the second wireless access network type.

In some embodiments, the second core network function is a session management function SMF, and the third core network function is an access management function AMF or a user plane function UPF.

It should be noted that the modules included in the first device are not limited to the modules described in the above embodiments, and may also include other modules, such as a storage module, a display module, etc.

An embodiment of the present disclosure further proposes a second device, comprising: one or more processors; wherein the second device is used to execute the access differentiation method described in the second aspect and the optional embodiment of the second aspect.

Fig. 10 is a schematic block diagram of a second device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Fig. 10 , the second device 1000 includes a transceiver module 1001 .

In some embodiments, the transceiver module is used to receive a first message sent by a first node, where the first message includes first information, wherein the first information is used to distinguish between multiple access networks used by the terminal.

In some embodiments, the first information is used to distinguish between multiple 3GPP access networks used by the terminal.

In some embodiments, when the terminal accesses the core network through a first 3GPP access network and accesses the core network through a second 3GPP access network, the first information indicates the first 3GPP access network or the second 3GPP access network.

In some embodiments, the first node comprises the terminal and the second node comprises a first core network function.

In some embodiments, the transceiver module includes:

The first receiving submodule is used to receive a PMFP Access Report message sent by the terminal, wherein the PMFP Access Report message is used to report to the first core network function whether the access network indicated by the first information is available.

In some embodiments, the transceiver module includes:

The second receiving submodule is used to receive a PMFP UAD provision message sent by the terminal, wherein the PMFP UAD provision message is used to instruct the first core network function to divert downlink data through the access network indicated by the first information.

In some embodiments, the first information is used to indicate that downlink data transmitted to the terminal through the multiple access networks is split, and is also used to indicate a transmission ratio of each access network transmitting the downlink data;

The second device also includes:

The traffic distribution module is used to distribute the downlink data through the access network indicated by the first information according to the ratio indicated by the first information.

In some embodiments, the first core network function is a user plane function UPF, or a performance measurement function PMF.

In some embodiments, the first node includes a second core network function and the second node includes a third core network function.

In some embodiments, the transceiver module includes:

The first receiving submodule is used to receive a session management message sent by the second core network function, wherein the session management message is used to instruct the third core network function to perform user plane connection and control plane connection operations between the access network indicated by the first information and the terminal; the user plane connection is a connection for business data interaction between the terminal and the core network; the control plane connection is a connection for control signaling interaction between the terminal and the core network.

In some embodiments, the operation includes one of the following: a connection establishment operation; a connection modification operation; a connection release operation.

In some embodiments, when the terminal accesses the core network through a first 3GPP access network and accesses the core network through a second 3GPP access network, the first information indicates the type of wireless access network to which the first 3GPP access network or the second 3GPP access network belongs; wherein the type of wireless access network to which the first 3GPP access network belongs is a first wireless access network type, the type of wireless access network to which the second 3GPP access network belongs is a second wireless access network type, and the first wireless access network type is different from the second wireless access network type;

The second device also includes:

A first processing module, configured to perform user plane connection and control plane connection operations with a terminal through the first 3GPP access network according to the first information indicating the first radio access network type;

The second processing module is used to indicate the second radio access network type according to the first information, and perform user plane connection and control plane connection operations with the terminal through the second 3GPP access network.

In some embodiments, the second core network function is a session management function SMF, and the third core network function is an access management function AMF or a user plane function UPF.

For the device embodiment, since it basically corresponds to the method embodiment, the relevant parts refer to the partial description of the method embodiment. The device embodiment described above is only schematic, wherein the modules described as separate components may or may not be physically separated, and the components displayed as modules may or may not be physical modules, that is, they may be located in one place, or they may be distributed on multiple network modules. Some or all of the modules may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the scheme of this embodiment. Ordinary technicians in this field can understand and implement it without paying creative work.

An embodiment of the present disclosure further proposes a first device, comprising: one or more processors; wherein the processor is used to call instructions to enable the first device to execute the access differentiation method described in the first aspect and the optional embodiments of the first aspect.

An embodiment of the present disclosure further proposes a second device, comprising: one or more processors; wherein the processor is used to call instructions to enable the second device to execute the access differentiation method described in the second aspect and the optional embodiments of the second aspect.

The embodiment of the present disclosure also provides a communication device, including: one or more processors; wherein the processor The processor is used to call instructions to enable the communication device to execute the access differentiation method described in the first aspect and the optional embodiment of the first aspect, and/or the access differentiation method described in the second aspect and the optional embodiment of the second aspect.

An embodiment of the present disclosure also proposes a communication system, comprising a first node and a second node, wherein the first node is configured to implement the access differentiation method described in the first aspect and the optional embodiment of the first aspect, and the second node is configured to implement the access differentiation method described in the second aspect and the optional embodiment of the second aspect.

An embodiment of the present disclosure further proposes a storage medium storing instructions, which, when executed on a communication device, enables the communication device to execute the access differentiation method described in the first aspect and the optional embodiment of the first aspect, and/or the access differentiation method described in the second aspect and the optional embodiment of the second aspect.

The embodiments of the present disclosure also propose a device for implementing any of the above methods, for example, a device is proposed, the device includes a unit or module for implementing each step performed by the first node in any of the above methods. For another example, another device is also proposed, including a unit or module for implementing each step performed by the second node in any of the above methods.

It should be understood that the division of the units or modules in the above device is only a division of logical functions, which can be fully or partially integrated into one physical entity or physically separated in actual implementation. In addition, the units or modules in the device can be implemented in the form of a processor calling software: for example, the device includes a processor, the processor is connected to a memory, instructions are stored in the memory, and the processor calls the instructions stored in the memory to implement any of the above methods or implement the functions of the units or modules of the above device, wherein the processor is, for example, a general-purpose processor, such as a central processing unit (CPU) or a microprocessor, and the memory is a memory inside the device or a memory outside the device. Alternatively, the units or modules in the device may be implemented in the form of hardware circuits, and the functions of some or all of the units or modules may be implemented by designing the hardware circuits. The hardware circuits may be understood as one or more processors; for example, in one implementation, the hardware circuits are application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), and the functions of some or all of the above units or modules may be implemented by designing the logical relationship of the components in the circuits; for another example, in another implementation, the hardware circuits may be implemented by programmable logic devices (PLDs), and Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) may be used as an example, which may include a large number of logic gate circuits, and the connection relationship between the logic gate circuits may be configured by configuring the configuration files, thereby implementing the functions of some or all of the above units or modules. All units or modules of the above devices may be implemented in the form of software called by the processor, or in the form of hardware circuits, or in the form of software called by the processor, and the remaining part may be implemented in the form of hardware circuits.

In the disclosed embodiments, the processor is a circuit with signal processing capability. In one implementation, the processor may be a circuit with instruction reading and execution capability, such as a central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, a graphics processing unit (GPU) (which may be understood as a microprocessor), or a digital signal processor (DSP); in another implementation, the processor may implement certain functions through the logical relationship of a hardware circuit, and the logical relationship of the above hardware circuit may be fixed or reconfigurable, such as a hardware circuit implemented by an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or a programmable logic device (PLD), such as an FPGA. In a reconfigurable hardware circuit, the process of the processor loading a configuration document to implement the hardware circuit configuration may be understood as the process of the processor loading instructions to implement the functions of some or all of the above units or modules. In addition, it can also be a hardware circuit designed for artificial intelligence, which can be understood as ASIC, such as Neural Network Processing Unit (NPU), Tensor Processing Unit (TPU), Deep Learning Processing Unit (DPU), etc.

FIG11 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device 11100 proposed in an embodiment of the present disclosure. The communication device 11100 may be a network device (e.g., an access network device, a core network device, etc.), or a terminal (e.g., a user device, etc.), or a chip, a chip system, or a processor that supports a network device to implement any of the above methods, or a chip, a chip system, or a processor that supports a terminal to implement any of the above methods. The communication device 11100 may be used to implement For details of the method described in the above method embodiment, please refer to the description in the above method embodiment.

As shown in FIG11 , the communication device 11100 includes one or more processors 11101. The processor 11101 may be a general-purpose processor or a dedicated processor, for example, a baseband processor or a central processing unit. The baseband processor may be used to process the communication protocol and the communication data, and the central processing unit may be used to control the communication device (such as a base station, a baseband chip, a terminal device, a terminal device chip, a DU or a CU, etc.), execute a program, and process the data of the program. The processor 11101 is used to call instructions so that the communication device 11100 executes any of the above methods.

In some embodiments, the communication device 11100 further includes one or more memories 11102 for storing instructions. Optionally, all or part of the memory 11102 may also be outside the communication device 11100.

In some embodiments, the communication device 11100 further includes one or more transceivers 11103. When the communication device 11100 includes one or more transceivers 11103, the communication steps such as sending and receiving in the above method are executed by the transceiver 11103, and the other steps are executed by the processor 11101.

In some embodiments, the transceiver may include a receiver and a transmitter, and the receiver and the transmitter may be separate or integrated. Optionally, the terms such as transceiver, transceiver unit, transceiver, transceiver circuit, etc. may be replaced with each other, the terms such as transmitter, transmission unit, transmitter, transmission circuit, etc. may be replaced with each other, and the terms such as receiver, receiving unit, receiver, receiving circuit, etc. may be replaced with each other.

Optionally, the communication device 11100 further includes one or more interface circuits 11104, which are connected to the memory 11102. The interface circuit 11104 can be used to receive signals from the memory 11102 or other devices, and can be used to send signals to the memory 11102 or other devices. For example, the interface circuit 11104 can read instructions stored in the memory 11102 and send the instructions to the processor 11101.

The communication device 11100 described in the above embodiments may be a network device or a terminal, but the scope of the communication device 11100 described in the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and the structure of the communication device 11100 may not be limited by FIG. 11. The communication device may be an independent device or may be part of a larger device. For example, the communication device may be: 1) an independent integrated circuit IC, or a chip, or a chip system or subsystem; (2) a collection of one or more ICs, optionally, the above IC collection may also include a storage component for storing data and programs; (3) an ASIC, such as a modem; (4) a module that can be embedded in other devices; (5) a receiver, a terminal device, an intelligent terminal device, a cellular phone, a wireless device, a handheld device, a mobile unit, a vehicle-mounted device, a network device, a cloud device, an artificial intelligence device, etc.; (6) others, etc.

Fig. 12 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a chip 12200 provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure. In the case where the communication device 11100 may be a chip or a chip system, reference may be made to the schematic diagram of the structure of the chip 12200 shown in Fig. 12, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

The chip 12200 includes one or more processors 12201, and the processor 12201 is used to call instructions so that the chip 12200 executes any of the above methods.

In some embodiments, the chip 12200 further includes one or more interface circuits 12202, the interface circuits 12202 are connected to the memory 12203, the interface circuits 12202 can be used to receive signals from the memory 12203 or other devices, and the interface circuits 12202 can be used to send signals to the memory

12203 or other devices to send signals. For example, the interface circuit 12202 can read the instructions stored in the memory 12203 and send the instructions to the processor 12201. Optionally, the terms such as interface circuit, interface, transceiver pin, transceiver, etc. can be replaced with each other.

In some embodiments, the chip 12200 further includes one or more memories 12203 for storing instructions. Optionally, all or part of the memory 12203 may be outside the chip 12200.

The present disclosure also provides a storage medium, wherein the storage medium stores instructions. When the instructions are sent to a communication device, When the communication device 11100 is executed, the communication device 11100 executes any of the above methods. Optionally, the storage medium is an electronic storage medium. Optionally, the storage medium is a computer-readable storage medium, but is not limited to this, and it can also be a storage medium readable by other devices. Optionally, the storage medium can be a non-transitory storage medium, but is not limited to this, and it can also be a temporary storage medium.

The present disclosure also proposes a program product, which, when executed by the communication device 11100, enables the communication device 11100 to execute any of the above methods. Optionally, the program product is a computer program product.

The present disclosure also proposes a computer program, which, when executed on a computer, causes the computer to execute any one of the above methods.

Claims (33)

An access differentiation method, characterized in that it is performed by a first node, and the method includes: A first message is sent to the second node, where the first message includes first information, wherein the first information is used to distinguish multiple access networks used by the terminal. The method according to claim 1 is characterized in that the first information is used to distinguish multiple 3GPP access networks used by the terminal. The method according to claim 2 is characterized in that, when the terminal accesses the core network through a first 3GPP access network and accesses the core network through a second 3GPP access network, the first information indicates the first 3GPP access network or the second 3GPP access network. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3 is characterized in that the first node includes the terminal and the second node includes a first core network function. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that the sending the first message to the second node comprises: Send a Performance Measurement Function Protocol Access Report PMFP Access Report message to the first core network function, wherein the PMFP Access Report message is used to report to the first core network function whether the access network indicated by the first information is available. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that the sending the first message to the second node comprises: A Performance Measurement Function Protocol User Assistance Data (PMFP) UAD provision message is sent to the first core network function, wherein the PMFP UAD provision message is used to instruct the first core network function to divert downlink data through the access network indicated by the first information. The method according to claim 6 is characterized in that the first information is used to indicate the diversion of downlink data transmitted to the terminal through the multiple access networks, and is also used to indicate the transmission ratio of each access network to transmit the downlink data. The method according to any one of claims 4 to 7 is characterized in that the first core network function is a user plane function UPF or a performance measurement function PMF. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3 is characterized in that the first node includes a second core network function, and the second node includes a third core network function. The method according to claim 9, wherein sending the first message to the second node comprises: A session management message is sent to the third core network function, wherein the session management message is used to instruct the third core network function to perform operations of user plane connection and control plane connection between the access network indicated by the first information and the terminal; the user plane connection is a connection for business data interaction between the terminal and the core network; the control plane connection is a connection for control signaling interaction between the terminal and the core network. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that the operation comprises one of the following: Connection establishment operation; Connection modification operations; Connection release operation. The method according to claim 10 or 11, characterized in that, when the terminal accesses the core network through a first 3GPP access network and accesses the core network through a second 3GPP access network, the first information indicates the type of wireless access network to which the first 3GPP access network or the second 3GPP access network belongs; The wireless access network type to which the first 3GPP access network belongs is a first wireless access network type, the wireless access network type to which the second 3GPP access network belongs is a second wireless access network type, and the first wireless access network type is different from the second wireless access network type. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 12 is characterized in that the second core network function is a session management function SMF, and the third core network function is an access management function AMF or a user plane function UPF. An access differentiation method, characterized in that it is performed by a second node, and the method includes: A first message sent by a first node is received, where the first message includes first information, wherein the first information is used to distinguish between multiple access networks used by a terminal. The method according to claim 14 is characterized in that the first information is used to distinguish multiple 3GPP access networks used by the terminal. The method according to claim 15 is characterized in that, when the terminal accesses the core network through a first 3GPP access network and accesses the core network through a second 3GPP access network, the first information indicates the first 3GPP access network or the second 3GPP access network. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 16, characterized in that the first node includes the terminal and the second node includes a first core network function. The method according to claim 17, wherein receiving the first message sent by the first node comprises: Receive a PMFP Access Report message sent by the terminal, wherein the PMFP Access Report message is used to report to the first core network function whether the access network indicated by the first information is available. The method according to claim 17, wherein receiving the first message sent by the first node comprises: Receive a PMFP UAD provision message sent by the terminal, wherein the PMFP UAD provision message is used to instruct the first core network function to divert downlink data through the access network indicated by the first information. The method according to claim 19, characterized in that the first information is used to indicate the offloading of downlink data transmitted to the terminal through the multiple access networks, and is also used to indicate the transmission ratio of each access network transmitting the downlink data; The method further comprises: According to the ratio indicated by the first information, the downlink data is diverted through the access network indicated by the first information. The method according to any one of claims 17 to 20 is characterized in that the first core network function is a user plane function UPF or a performance measurement function PMF. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 16 is characterized in that the first node includes a second core network function, and the second node includes a third core network function. The method according to claim 22, characterized in that the receiving the first message sent by the first node comprises: Receive a session management message sent by the second core network function, wherein the session management message is used to instruct the third core network function to perform user plane connection and control plane connection operations between the access network indicated by the first information and the terminal; the user plane connection is a connection for business data interaction between the terminal and the core network; the control plane connection is a connection for control signaling interaction between the terminal and the core network. The method according to claim 23, characterized in that the operation comprises one of the following: Connection establishment operation; Connection modification operations; Connection release operation. The method according to claim 23 or 24, characterized in that, when the terminal accesses the core network through a first 3GPP access network and accesses the core network through a second 3GPP access network, the first information indicates the type of wireless access network to which the first 3GPP access network or the second 3GPP access network belongs; The wireless access network type to which the first 3GPP access network belongs is a first wireless access network type, the wireless access network type to which the second 3GPP access network belongs is a second wireless access network type, and the first wireless access network type is different from the second wireless access network type; The method further comprises: According to the first information indicating the first radio access network type, performing user plane connection and control plane connection operations with the terminal through the first 3GPP access network; or According to the first information indicating the type of the second radio access network, a user plane connection and a control plane connection are performed with the terminal through the second 3GPP access network. The method according to any one of claims 22 to 25 is characterized in that the second core network function is a session management function SMF, and the third core network function is an access management function AMF or a user plane function UPF. A first device, characterized in that the device comprises: The transceiver module is used to send a first message to the second node, where the first message includes first information, wherein the first information is used to distinguish multiple access networks used by the terminal. A second device, characterized in that the device comprises: The transceiver module is used to receive a first message sent by a first node, where the first message includes first information, wherein the first information is used to distinguish between multiple access networks used by the terminal. A first device, characterized by comprising: one or more processors; The processor is used to call instructions to enable the first device to execute the access differentiation method described in any one of claims 1-13. A second device, characterized by comprising: one or more processors; The processor is used to call instructions to enable the second device to execute the access differentiation method described in any one of claims 14-26. A communication device, comprising: one or more processors; The processor is used to call instructions so that the communication device executes the access differentiation method described in any one of claims 1-13 or 14-26. A communication system, characterized in that it includes a first node and a second node, wherein the first node is configured to implement the access differentiation method described in any one of claims 1-13, and the second node is configured to implement the access differentiation method described in any one of claims 14-26. A storage medium storing instructions, characterized in that when the instructions are executed on a communication device, the communication device executes the access differentiation method described in any one of claims 1-13 or 14-26.