WO2025010561A1 - Communication method and apparatus, communication device, storage medium, and communication system - Google Patents

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a communication method and apparatus, a communication device, a storage medium, and a communication system. The method comprises: a first network element sends a first parameter set to a second network element, wherein the first parameter set is used for an authentication and key management for applications (AKMA) service, and the first parameter set at least comprises updated first information. According to the method of the present disclosure, the first parameter set is sent to the second network element, so that the second network element obtains the first parameter set updated by a terminal, thereby achieving the AKMA service.

Description

Communication method, device, communication equipment, storage medium and communication system Technical Field

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

Background Art

In the communication system, the Authentication and Key Management method for Applications (AKMA) service has been used to protect the communication between the terminal and the application function (AF), and the terminal and the AF can be authenticated by the application function key (K _AF ). When there is no terminal update in the current AKMA service, the technology of enabling the relevant network elements to obtain the updated K _AF is provided.

Summary of the invention

The present disclosure provides a communication method, an apparatus, a communication device, a storage medium and a communication system.

According to a first aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a communication method is provided. The method is performed by a first network element and includes:

A first parameter set is sent to a second network element, where the first parameter set is used for application authentication and key management AKMA service, and the first parameter set includes at least updated first information, so that the second network element obtains an updated routing identifier (Router Indic, RID) of the UE.

According to a second aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a communication method is provided. The method is performed by a second network element and includes:

A first parameter set sent by a first network element is received, wherein the first parameter set is used for application authentication and key management (AKMA) services and the first parameter set includes at least updated first information.

According to a third aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a communication method is proposed. The method is performed by a third network element, including:

A first parameter set sent by a second network element or a fourth network element is received, wherein the first parameter set is used for application authentication and key management AKMA service, and the first parameter set at least includes updated first information.

According to a fourth aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a communication device is provided, the device comprising a transceiver module, configured to:

A first parameter set is sent to the second network element, where the first parameter set is used for application authentication and key management AKMA service, and the first parameter set includes at least updated first information.

According to a fifth aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a communication device is provided, the device comprising a transceiver module, configured to:

A first parameter set sent by a first network element is received, wherein the first parameter set is used for application authentication and key management (AKMA) services and the first parameter set includes at least updated first information.

According to a sixth aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a communication device is provided, the device comprising a transceiver module, configured to:

A first parameter set sent by a second network element or a fourth network element is received, wherein the first parameter set is used for application authentication and key management AKMA service, and the first parameter set at least includes updated first information.

According to the seventh aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a communication device is proposed, comprising: a transceiver; a memory; a processor, which is connected to the transceiver and the memory respectively, and is configured to control the wireless signal reception and transmission of the transceiver by executing computer executable instructions on the memory, and can implement any one of the methods described in the first to third aspects above.

According to an eighth aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a computer storage medium is proposed, wherein the computer storage medium stores computer executable instructions; after the computer executable instructions are executed by a processor, the method described in any one of the first to third aspects above can be implemented.

According to the ninth aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a communication system is proposed, including: a first network element, a second network element, and a third network element, wherein the first network element is used to execute the method described in the first aspect, the second network element is used to execute the method described in the second aspect, and the third network element is used to execute the method described in the third aspect.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and/or additional aspects and advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent and easily understood from the following description of the embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

2a-2b are interactive schematic diagrams of some communication methods provided by embodiments of the present disclosure;

3a-3c are flowchart diagrams of some communication methods provided by embodiments of the present disclosure;

4a-4e are flowchart diagrams of other communication methods provided by embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG5 is a flowchart of some further communication methods provided by embodiments of the present disclosure;

6a-6b are interactive schematic diagrams of some communication methods provided in embodiments of the present disclosure;

7a-7c are diagrams showing examples of interactions of some communication methods provided in embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG8a is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG8b is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG8c is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG9a is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 b is a schematic diagram of the structure of a chip provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The method disclosed in the present invention can be used to solve the technical problem of "implementing an AKMA service when the RID on the terminal side is updated, so that the AF can identify the AAnF and obtain the K _AF ".

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

In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a communication method, which is performed by a first network element and includes:

A first parameter set is sent to the second network element, where the first parameter set is used for application authentication and key management AKMA service, and the first parameter set includes at least updated first information.

In the above embodiment, the first network element may send the first parameter set to the second network element to implement an AKMA service.

In conjunction with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, sending the first parameter set to the second network element includes:

Under a first condition, a first parameter set is sent to a second network element, and the first condition is that the terminal receives updated first information configured by the first network element.

In the above embodiment, the first network element sends the first parameter set to the second network element under the first condition to implement information update in the AKAM service.

In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the method also includes: determining whether the first condition is met, wherein determining whether the first condition is met includes: determining whether the second information sent by the terminal is consistent with the third information stored in the first network element; if the second information is consistent with the third information, it is determined that the first condition is met.

In the above embodiment, the first network element determines whether the second information sent by the terminal is consistent with the third information stored in the first network element, thereby determining whether the first condition is met, and a determination method for meeting the first condition is proposed to determine whether the first network element sends the first data set, thereby avoiding waste of resources.

In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the first parameter set also includes fourth information, and the fourth information is used to identify information related to the subscriber, and the information related to the subscriber includes at least one of the fifth information, the first key, and the second key.

In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, sending the first parameter set to the second network element includes: discovering the second network element based on the updated first information; and sending the first parameter set to the second network element.

In the above embodiment, the first network element discovers the second network element based on the updated first information; sends the first parameter set to the second network element to generate the fifth information, thereby updating the fifth information.

In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a communication method, which is performed by a second network element, and the method includes:

A first parameter set sent by a first network element is received, wherein the first parameter set is used for application authentication and key management (AKMA) services and the first parameter set includes at least updated first information.

In the above embodiment, the second network element receives the first parameter set sent by the first network element to obtain the first information and/or the fourth information, determines the update information and subscriber-related information in the AKMA service, and reduces the signaling resources used for sending parameters.

In combination with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the first parameter set also includes fourth information, and the fourth information is used to identify information related to the subscriber, and the information related to the subscriber includes at least one of the fifth information, the first key, and the second key.

In combination with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the method further includes: generating fifth information based on the updated first information and/or fourth information, wherein the fifth information is used to identify the second key.

In the above embodiment, the second network element can generate fifth information based on the updated first information and fourth information to use the fifth information to identify the second key; the second network element can also use the updated first information to replace the unupdated first information in the unupdated fifth information when the unupdated fifth information is stored locally to generate updated fifth information, thereby improving the generation efficiency of the fifth information.

In combination with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the method further includes: generating a second key based on the fourth information and the first key stored in the second network element.

In the above embodiment, the second network element may: generate a second key based on the fourth information and the first key stored in the second network element, so as to realize the generation of keys in the AKMA service.

In combination with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the method further includes: discovering a third network element based on the updated first information.

In the above embodiment, the third unit is discovered through the updated first information, so that the relevant information is sent to the third unit to implement the update of the third unit database.

In combination with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the method further includes: sending at least one of the following to a third network element: fifth information, a second key, and fourth information.

In the above embodiment, by sending at least one of the following to the third network element: the fifth information, the second key, and the fourth information, the third network element database is updated, and the signaling resources used for sending parameters are reduced.

In combination with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the method further comprises: discovering a fourth network element based on the updated first information, and sending at least one of the following to the fourth network element: fifth information, the second key, and the fourth information. The fourth network element is used to discover the third network element based on the updated first information.

In the above embodiment, by discovering the fourth network element based on the updated first information, to discover the network element that can support the generated fifth information, and sending the relevant information, the application scope of the proposed AKMA service is expanded.

In combination with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the fourth network element is further used to send at least one of the following to the third network element: fifth information, second key, fourth information.

In the above embodiment, at least one of the following is sent to the third network element by the fourth network element: the fifth information, the second key, and the fourth information, so as to update the information in the third network element and reduce the signaling resources used for sending parameters.

In combination with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the method further includes: determining that the second network element stores unupdated first information; and replacing the unupdated first information with the updated first information.

In combination with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the method further includes: determining that the second network element stores unupdated fifth information generated using unupdated first information; and generating the fifth information using the updated first information.

In the above example, the generation efficiency of the fifth information is improved by replacing the first information in the unupdated fifth information with the updated first information to generate the fifth information.

In combination with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the method further includes: sending at least one of the following to the third network element or the fourth network element: fifth information, second key, fourth information.

In the above embodiments, in different situations, at least one of the following may be sent to the third network element or the fourth network element: the fifth information, the second key, the fourth information. The application scope of the proposed AKMA service is expanded.

In the third aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure proposes a communication method, which is executed by a third network element, and the method includes: receiving at least one of fourth information, fifth information, and second key sent by the second network element or the fourth network element, wherein the fifth information is generated by the updated first information included in the first parameter set, and the first parameter set is used for application authentication and key management AKMA service.

In the above embodiment, the third network element receives at least one of the fourth information, the fifth information, and the second key sent by the second network element or the fourth network element to update the third network element's own database, so that the AF can discover the third network element when the terminal updates the first information, and obtain the updated information and key K _AF in the third network element, thereby expanding the application scope of the proposed AKMA service.

In conjunction with some embodiments of the third aspect, in some embodiments, the first parameter set further includes a fourth information

In combination with some embodiments of the third aspect, in some embodiments, the fifth information is used to identify the second key.

In combination with some embodiments of the third aspect, in some embodiments, the third network element is discovered based on the updated first information.

In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure proposes a communication device, which includes a transceiver module, and is used to: send a first parameter set to a second network element, the first parameter set is used for application authentication and key management AKMA service, and the first parameter set at least includes updated first information.

In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure proposes a communication device, which includes a transceiver module, and is used to: receive a first parameter set sent by a first network element, wherein the first parameter set is used for application authentication and key management AKMA service, and the first parameter set includes at least updated first information.

In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure proposes a communication device, which includes a transceiver module for: receiving a first parameter set sent by a second network element or a fourth network element, wherein the first parameter set is used for application authentication and key management AKMA service, and the first parameter set includes at least updated first information.

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 optional implementation modes of the first, second and third aspects.

In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure proposes a computer program, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to execute optional implementations of the first, second and third aspects.

In the ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure proposes a communication system, and the above-mentioned communication system includes: a first network element, a second network element, and a third network element, wherein the first network element is used to execute the method described in the first aspect, the second network element is used to execute the method described in the second aspect, and the third network element is used to execute the method described in the third aspect.

In combination with some embodiments of the ninth aspect, in some embodiments, the communication system also includes a fourth network element.

It is understandable that the above communication method, communication device, communication equipment, communication system, storage medium, program product, and 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 provide communication methods, devices, communication equipment, storage media and communication systems. In some embodiments, the terms communication method, information processing method, communication method, etc. can be replaced with each other, the terms information transmission device, information processing device, communication device, etc. can be replaced with each other, and the terms information processing system, communication system, etc. can be replaced with each other.

The embodiments of the present disclosure are not exhaustive, but are merely 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 an embodiment can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and the steps can be arbitrarily combined. For example, a solution after removing some steps in an embodiment can also be implemented as an independent embodiment, and the order of the steps in an embodiment can be arbitrarily exchanged, and in addition, they can be arbitrarily combined in an embodiment; in addition, the embodiments can be arbitrarily combined, for example, some or all steps of different embodiments can be arbitrarily combined, and an embodiment can be arbitrarily combined with 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 "a", "an", "the", "above", "said", "aforementioned", "this", etc., may mean "one and only one", or "one or more", "at least one", etc. For example, when using articles such as "a", "an", "the" in English in translation, the noun after the article may 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, the terms "at least one of", "at least one of", "at least one of", "one or more", "a plurality of", "multiple", etc. can be used interchangeably.

In the embodiments of the present disclosure, descriptions such as “at least one of A, B, C…”, “A and/or B and/or C…”, etc. include the situation where any one of A, B, C… exists alone, and also include the situation where any multiple of A, B, C… exist in any combination, and each situation can exist alone; for example, “at least one of A, B, C” includes the situation where A exists alone, B exists alone, C exists alone, the combination of A and B, the combination of A and C, the combination of B and C, and the combination of A, B and C; for example, A and/or B includes the situation where A exists alone, B exists alone, and the combination of A and B.

In some embodiments, the description methods such as "in one case A, in another case B", "in response to one case A, in response to another case B", etc. may include the following technical solutions according to the situation: A is executed independently of B, that is, in some embodiments A; B is executed independently of A, that is, in some embodiments B; A and B are selectively executed, that is, selected from A and B for execution in some embodiments; A and B are both executed. Execution, that is, in some embodiments, A and B. When there are more branches such as A, B, C, etc., it is similar to the above.

The prefixes such as "first" and "second" in the embodiments of the present disclosure are only used to distinguish different description objects, and do not constitute restrictions on the position, order, priority, quantity or content of the description objects. The statement of the description object refers to the description in the context of the claims or embodiments, and should not constitute unnecessary restrictions due to the use of prefixes. For example, if the description object is a "field", the ordinal number before the "field" in the "first field" and the "second field" does not limit the position or order between the "fields", and the "first" and "second" do not limit whether the "fields" they modify are in the same message, nor do they limit the order of the "first field" and the "second field". For another example, if the description object is a "level", the ordinal number before the "level" in the "first level" and the "second level" does not limit the priority between the "levels". For another example, the number of description objects is not limited by the ordinal number, and can be one or more. Taking the "first device" as an example, the number of "devices" can be one or more. In addition, the objects modified by different prefixes may be the same or different. For example, if the description object is "device", then the "first device" and the "second device" may be the same device or different devices, and their types may be the same or different. For another example, if the description object is "information", then the "first information" and the "second information" may be the same information or different information, and their contents may 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, etc. can be interpreted as physical or virtual, and their names are not limited to the names recorded in the embodiments. 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, 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 access network device, the core network device, or the network device and the communication between the terminals is replaced by the communication between multiple terminals (for example, it can also be referred to as 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, the language such as "uplink" and "downlink" can also be replaced by the language corresponding to the communication between the terminals (for example, "side"). For example, the uplink channel, the downlink channel, etc. can be replaced by the side channel, and the uplink, the downlink, etc. can be replaced by the side link.

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

In some embodiments, 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.

FIG1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG1 , a communication system 100 may include at least one of a terminal 101 and a core network device 102.

In some embodiments, the terminal 101 includes, for example, a mobile phone, a wearable device, an Internet of Things device, a car with a communication function, a smart car, a tablet computer, a computer with a wireless transceiver function, a virtual reality (VR) terminal device, an augmented reality (AR) terminal device, a wireless terminal device in industrial control, a wireless terminal device in self-driving, a wireless terminal device in remote medical surgery, a smart phone, etc. At least one of wireless terminal devices in a smart grid, wireless terminal devices in transportation safety, wireless terminal devices in a smart city, and wireless terminal devices in a smart home, but not limited to these.

In some embodiments, the core network device 102 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 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 above-mentioned one or more network elements may include, for example: application function (AF), application layer authentication and key management anchor function (AAnF), access and mobility management function (AMF), user plane function (UPF), session management function (SMF), mobility management entity (MME), unified data management function (UDM), etc.

In some embodiments, the above-mentioned PCF, AF, NAF, AAnF, BSF, AMF, UPF, SMF, MME, and UDM are used for "function limitation", and the names are not limited thereto.

In some embodiments, the above-mentioned PCF, AF, NAF, AAnF, BSF, AMF, UPF, SMF, MME, and UDM may be independent of the core network equipment.

In some embodiments, the above-mentioned PCF, AF, NAF, AAnF, BSF, AMF, UPF, SMF, MME, and UDM may be part of the core network device 102.

It can be understood that the communication system described in the embodiment of the present disclosure is for the purpose of more clearly illustrating 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. A person of ordinary skill in the art can know 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 also applicable to similar technical problems.

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 connection relationship between the subjects is an example, and the subjects may be connected or disconnected, and the connection may be in any manner, which may be a direct connection or an indirect connection, and may be a wired connection or a wireless connection.

FIG2a is an interactive schematic diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG2a, the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a communication method, which is used in a communication system 100, and the method includes:

Step 2101: The first network element 101 determines whether a first condition is met.

In some embodiments, the first network element 101 determines whether a first condition is satisfied to determine whether the terminal receives updated first information.

In some embodiments, the first condition is that the terminal receives updated first information of the first network element configuration.

In some embodiments, determining whether the first condition is met includes: determining whether the second information sent by the terminal is consistent with the third information stored in the first network element; if the second information is consistent with the third information, it is determined that the first condition is met.

In some embodiments, the first information may be indication information configured by the first network element for the terminal, and is used to identify the first network element, the second network element, and the third network element.

In some embodiments, the first network element may be a UDM, the second network element may be an AUSF, and the third network element may be an AAnF.

In some embodiments, the name of the first information is not limited, and it may be, for example, “routing indication information”, “indication information”, etc.

In some embodiments, the first information includes at least a routing indicator (RID). In other words, the updated first information includes at least an updated RID.

In some embodiments, the RID can be a random character consisting of 1 to 4 decimal digits pre-configured in the Universal Subscriber Identity Module (USIM).

In some embodiments, the first information can be used together with a home network identifier (Home Network Identifier) to route network signaling containing a subscription concealed identifier (SUCI) to a first network element, a second network element, or a third network element that can provide services to the terminal.

In some embodiments, the first network element may update the first information for the terminal so that the terminal uses the updated first information to perform the application authentication and key management AKMA service.

In some embodiments, the second information is used by the first network element to determine whether the terminal has received the updated first information.

In some embodiments, the first network element may receive the second information sent by the UE, but is not limited thereto. The present disclosure does not limit the manner in which the first network element obtains the second information.

In some embodiments, the name of the second information is not limited, and it can be, for example, "terminal receiving information", "terminal updating information", etc.

In some embodiments, the second information includes at least UPU-MAC-I _UE , where UPU-MAC-I _UE can be a hash value calculated by the terminal through an authentication server function key (Authentication Server Function Key, K _AUSF ), used to indicate that the terminal has received the information.

In some embodiments, the third information is used by the first network element to determine whether the terminal has received the updated first information.

In some embodiments, the third information stored in the first network element may be sent by the second network element, but is not limited thereto. The present disclosure does not limit the method for obtaining the third information stored in the first network element.

In some embodiments, the name of the third information is not limited, and it may be, for example, "expected terminal reception information", "expected terminal update information", etc.

In some embodiments, the third information includes at least UPU-XMAC-I _UE , where UPU-XMAC-I _UE may be a hash value calculated by the second network element through K _AUSF , which is used to estimate whether the terminal has received the information.

Optionally, in some embodiments, the first network element receives second information sent by the terminal, and compares the received second information with third information stored in the first network element. If the second information is consistent with the third information, the first network element determines that the first condition is met.

For example, in some embodiments, the first network element is the UDM. The UDM may compare the received UPU-MAC-I _UE with the UPU-XMAC-I _UE temporarily stored by the UDM. If the received UPU-MAC-I _UE is the same as the stored UPU-XMAC-I _UE , the UDM may confirm that the UE has received the updated RID.

Step 2102: The first network element 101 discovers the second network element based on the updated first information.

In some embodiments, the first network element 101 discovers the second network element based on the updated first information to send the first parameter set to the second network element.

In some embodiments, the first information is used to identify the first network element and the second network element so that the first network element can discover the second network element. In other words, based on the updated first information, the second network element corresponding to the updated first information can be determined.

In some embodiments, the name of the first information is not limited, and it may be, for example, “routing indication information”, “indication information”, etc.

In some embodiments, the first information includes at least the RID. In other words, the updated first information includes at least: the updated RID.

Specifically, the RID is a string of random numbers without actual meaning, that is, the RID is unique. Therefore, from the uniqueness of the RID, it can be known that the second network element uniquely corresponding to the updated first information can be found based on the updated first information.

Optionally, in some embodiments, the first network element determines, based on the updated first information, that the updated first information corresponds to the second network element, so that the first network element discovers the second network element.

For example, in some embodiments, the first network element is a UDM and the second network element is an AUSF. The UDM can find the AUSF based on the updated RID in the updated first information. For example, if the updated RID is 1000, the UDM can determine its corresponding AUSF based on RID=1000, so that the UDM can find the corresponding AUSF.

Step 2103: The first network element 101 sends a first parameter set to the second network element 102 under a first condition.

In some embodiments, the second network element 102 may receive the first parameter set sent by the first network element 101 under the first condition.

In some embodiments, the first parameter set is used for Application Authentication and Key Management AKMA services.

In some embodiments, the name of the first parameter set is not limited, and it may be, for example, a "key set", "authentication parameter set", etc.

In some embodiments, the first parameter set includes at least one of the updated first information and the fourth information.

In some embodiments, the name of the fourth information is not limited, and it may be, for example, "terminal identification information", "identification information", etc.

In some embodiments, the fourth information includes at least a Subscription Permanent Identifier (SUPI), where the SUPI can identify the terminal.

In some embodiments, the fourth information is used to identify information related to the subscriber, and the information related to the subscriber includes at least one of the fifth information, the first key, and the second key. The subscriber is, for example, a user to whom the terminal belongs, but is not limited thereto, and the present disclosure is not limited thereto. When the terminal owned by the subscriber is replaced, the fourth information of the terminal after the replacement is consistent with the fourth information of the terminal before the replacement, that is, the fourth information corresponds to the subscriber and does not change with the replacement of the terminal.

Specifically, in some embodiments, when the terminal receives updated first information configured by the first network element, the first network element may send the first parameter set. In other words, when the second information sent by the terminal received by the first network element is consistent with the third information stored by the first network element, the first network element may send the first parameter set.

For example, in some embodiments, the first network element is a UDM and the second network element is an AUSF. If the UPU-MAC-I _UE is the same as the stored UPU-XMAC-I _UE , the UDM confirms that the UE has received the updated RID. At this time, the UDM may send a first parameter set to the AUSF, which includes at least the updated RID and SUPI.

Step 2104: The second network element 102 determines that the second network element stores the first information which has not been updated.

In some embodiments, the second network element 102 may determine that the second network element stores unupdated first information, so as to replace the unupdated first information with the updated first information.

In other words, in some embodiments, the second network element can determine that the second network element stores unupdated fifth information generated using unupdated first information to generate fifth information based on the updated first information, i.e., replace the unupdated first information with the updated first information to generate the fifth information.

Optionally, in some embodiments, the second network element stores the non-updated first information, that is, the second network element also stores the non-updated fifth information generated using the non-updated first information.

In some embodiments, the fifth information is an AKMA Key Identifier (A-KID), and the fifth information is used to identify the second key, namely, the AKMA service key.

In some embodiments, when the terminal updates the first information, the second network element will retain the original first information, that is, the first information that has not been updated. In other words, in some embodiments, when the terminal updates the first information, the second network element will delete the first information that has not been updated.

For example, in some embodiments, the second network element is AUSF. When the terminal updates the RID in the first information from 1000 to 1001, the AUSF does not update the RID1000 in the stored unupdated fifth information to 1001, then it can be determined that the AUSF stores the unupdated first information.

Step 2105: The second network element 102 replaces the non-updated first information with the updated first information.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the second network element 102 may replace the non-updated first information with the updated first information to generate the fifth information.

For example, in some embodiments, the second network element is AUSF. When the terminal updates the RID in the first information from 1000 to 1001, and AUSF does not delete RID1000 in the stored fifth information that is not updated, AUSF can replace the first information that is not updated with the updated first information, that is, replace RID1000 with the updated RID1001, and then generate the fifth information.

Step 2106: The second network element 102 generates fifth information based on the updated first information and/or fourth information.

In some embodiments, the fifth information may be generated based on the updated first information and/or fourth information.

In some embodiments, the second network element 102 may generate fifth information based on the updated first information and/or fourth information, so as to send the fifth information to the third network element 103 .

In some embodiments, the fifth information is used to identify the second key, ie, the AKMA key (K _AKMA ).

In some embodiments, the name of the fifth information is not limited, and it may be, for example, "AKAM key identification information", "key representation information", etc.

In some embodiments, the fifth information includes at least an AKMA key identification (A-KID).

In some embodiments, the second network element stores unupdated first information and unupdated fifth information generated using the unupdated first information. The second network element may use the updated first information to replace the unupdated first information to generate the fifth information.

In some embodiments, if the second network element does not store the unupdated first information, the second network element may generate the fifth information based on the received updated first information and/or fourth information.

In other words, in some embodiments, when the second network element locally stores the unupdated fifth information generated from the unupdated first information, the updated first information may be used to replace the unupdated first information in the unupdated fifth information, thereby generating updated fifth information.

In other words, in some embodiments, when the second network element does not store the fifth information locally, it is necessary to generate updated fifth information based on the first key, the fourth information and the updated first information.

For example, in some embodiments, the second network element is an AUSF. The AUSF stores an unupdated A-KID, and the AUSF can generate a new A-KID by replacing the unupdated RID in the unupdated A-KID with the updated RID.

For example, in some embodiments, the second network element is an AUSF. If the unupdated A-KID stored in the AUSF is deleted, the AUSF may derive a new A-KID based on the received SUPI and the updated RID.

Step 2107: The second network element 102 generates a second key based on the fourth information and the first key stored in the second network element.

In some embodiments, the second key may be generated based on the fourth information and the first key stored in the second network element.

In some embodiments, the second network element 102 may generate a second key based on the fourth information and the first key stored in the second network element.

In some embodiments, the first key is used to determine the second key.

In some embodiments, the first key includes at least an AUSF key (K _AUSF ), where K _AUSF is an AUSF network element key. In the AKMA service, K _AUSF can be used as an intermediate key to derive and determine the AKMA key.

In some embodiments, the second key is used to determine an application function key (Application Function Key, K _AF ), so that the AF obtains the corresponding K _AF after the first information of the terminal is updated, thereby realizing a complete AKMA service.

In some embodiments, the second key includes at least an AKMA key (K _AKMA ), wherein _AKMA can be used to derive and determine K _AF .

In other words, in some embodiments, the second network element locally stores the second key, and step 2107 can be omitted.

In other words, in some embodiments, the second network element does not store the second key locally, and in this case, it is necessary to generate the second key based on the fourth information and the first key stored in the second network element.

For example, in some embodiments, the second network element is an AUSF for example. The AUSF may generate K _AKMA based on the received SUPI and the stored K _AUSF .

Step 2108: The second network element 102 discovers the third network element 103 based on the updated first information.

In some embodiments, the second network element 102 may discover the third network element 103 based on the updated first information to send at least one of the fifth information, the second key and the fourth information to the third network element 103 .

In some embodiments, in some embodiments, the first information may be indication information configured by the first network element for the terminal, and is used to identify the first network element, the second network element, and the third network element.

Specifically, the second network element may determine the corresponding third network element based on the updated RID in the updated first information, so that the second network element discovers the third network element.

For example, the second network element is AUSF and the third network element is AAnF. Then AUSF can determine the AAnF corresponding to the updated RID based on the updated RID, so that AUSF can discover the AAnF.

Step 2109 , the second network element 102 sends at least one of the fifth information, the second key and the fourth information to the third network element 103 .

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the second network element 102 may send at least one of the fifth information, the second key and the fourth information to the third network element 103, so that the third network element 103 obtains the above information and the key.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the third network element 103 may receive at least one of the fifth information, the second key, and the fourth information sent by the second network element 102 .

In some embodiments, the third network element is discovered by the updated first information, that is, the third network element is the third network element indicated by the RID in the updated first information.

Optionally, in some embodiments, the AF receives the fifth information sent by the terminal, and based on the RID in the fifth information, the AF can directly discover the third network element, or the AF can send the fifth information to the NEF so that the NEF can discover the third network element based on the fifth information. At the same time, based on the fifth information, the AF can obtain K _AF from the third network element or from the third network element through the NEF. Thus, an AKMA service is implemented, so that the AF can discover the third network element and obtain K _AF when the terminal updates the first information.

In some embodiments, the second key may be a second key stored locally in the second network element, or may be generated based on the fourth information and a first key stored in the second network element, which is not limited in the present disclosure.

For example, the second network element is AUSF and the third network element is AAnF. Then the AUSF may send at least one of A-KID, SUPI and K _AKMA to the AAnF.

The communication method involved in the embodiment of the present disclosure may include at least one of step 2101 to step 2109. For example, step 2101 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, step 2103 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, step 2109 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, steps 2101+2102+2103 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, and steps 2104+2105 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, but are not limited thereto.

In some embodiments, step 2104 and step 2105 are replaceable steps, that is, step 2104 and step 2105 may not be executed.

In some embodiments, step 2104 and step 2105 are optional, and one or more of these steps may be omitted or replaced in different embodiments.

In some embodiments, step 2101 and step 2102 are optional, and one or more of these steps may be omitted or replaced in different embodiments.

In this implementation mode or example, unless there is any contradiction, each step can be independent, arbitrarily combined or exchanged in order, the optional methods or optional examples can be arbitrarily combined, and can be arbitrarily combined with any steps of other implementation modes or other examples.

FIG2b is an interactive schematic diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG2b, the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a communication method, which is used in a communication system 100, and the method includes:

Step 2201: The first network element 101 determines whether a first condition is met.

For step 2201, reference may be made to step 2101 in FIG. 2a and other related parts in the embodiment involved in FIG. 2a, which will not be described in detail here.

In some embodiments, in some embodiments, the first condition is that the terminal receives updated first information of the first network element configuration.

In some embodiments, the first network element 101 may determine whether the first condition is met based on the second information sent by the terminal and the third information stored in the first network element.

Step 2202: The first network element 101 discovers the second network element based on the updated first information.

For step 2202, reference may be made to step 2102 in FIG. 2a and other related parts in the embodiment involved in FIG. 2a, which will not be described in detail here.

In some embodiments, the first network element 101 discovers the second network element based on the updated first information to send the first parameter set to the second network element.

Step 2203: The first network element 101 may send a first parameter set under a first condition.

For step 2203, reference may be made to step 2103 in FIG. 2a and other related parts in the embodiment involved in FIG. 2a, which will not be described in detail here.

In some embodiments, the first network element 101 may send a first parameter set to the second network element 102 under a first condition.

In some embodiments, the second network element 102 may receive the first parameter set sent by the first network element 101 under the first condition.

Step 2204: The second network element 102 determines that the second network element stores the first information which has not been updated.

For step 2204, reference may be made to step 2104 in FIG. 2a and other related parts in the embodiment involved in FIG. 2a, which will not be described in detail here.

In some embodiments, the second network element 102 may determine that the second network element stores unupdated first information, so as to replace the unupdated first information with the updated first information.

Step 2205: The second network element 102 replaces the non-updated first information with the updated first information.

For step 2205, reference may be made to step 2105 in FIG. 2a and other related parts in the embodiment involved in FIG. 2a, which will not be described in detail here.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the second network element 102 may replace the non-updated first information with the updated first information to generate the fifth information.

Step 2206: The second network element 102 generates fifth information based on the updated first information and/or fourth information.

For step 2206, reference may be made to step 2106 in FIG. 2a and other related parts in the embodiment involved in FIG. 2a, which will not be described in detail here.

In some embodiments, the second network element 102 may generate fifth information based on the updated first information and/or fourth information, so as to send the fifth information to the fourth network element 103 .

Step 2207: The second network element 102 generates a second key based on the fourth information and the first key stored in the second network element.

For step 2207, reference may be made to step 2107 in FIG. 2a and other related parts in the embodiment involved in FIG. 2a, which will not be described in detail here.

In some embodiments, the second network element 102 may generate a second key based on the fourth information and the first key stored in the second network element.

In some embodiments, the second key is used to determine K _AF , so that the AF obtains the corresponding K _AF after the first information of the terminal is updated, thereby realizing a complete AKMA service.

Step 2208: The second network element 102 discovers the fourth network element 104 based on the updated first information.

In some embodiments, the second network element 102 may discover the fourth network element 104 based on the updated first information to send at least one of the fifth information, the second key and the fourth information to the fourth network element 104 .

In some embodiments, in some embodiments, the first information may be indication information configured by the first network element for the terminal, and is used to identify the first network element, the second network element, the third network element, and the fourth network element.

Optionally, in some embodiments, if the second network element does not support the updated first information, the fourth network element may be discovered through the updated first information to perform the AKMA service through the fourth network element, wherein the fourth network element supports the updated first information.

Specifically, the second network element may determine the corresponding fourth network element based on the updated RID in the updated first information, so that the second network element discovers the fourth network element.

For example, the second network element is AUSF ₁ and the fourth network element is AUSF _2. AUSF ₁ can determine AUSF ₂ corresponding to the updated RID based on the updated RID, so that AUSF ₁ can discover AUSF ₂ .

Step 2209 , the second network element 102 sends at least one of the fifth information, the second key and the fourth information to the fourth network element 104 .

In some embodiments, the second network element 102 may send at least one of the fifth information, the second key and the fourth information to the fourth network element 104, so that the fourth network element 104 obtains the above information and the key.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the fourth network element 104 may receive the fifth information, the second key and the fourth information sent by the second network element 102. At least one of the following.

In some embodiments, the fourth network element is discovered by the updated first information, that is, the fourth network element is the fourth network element indicated by the RID in the updated first information.

For example, it is described as follows that the second network element is AUSF ₁ and the fourth network element is AUSF _2. Then AUSF ₁ may send at least one of A-KID, SUPI and K _AKMA to AUSF ₂ .

In step 2210 , the fourth network element 104 may send at least one of the fifth information, the second key and the fourth information to the third network element 103 .

In some embodiments, the fourth network element 104 may send at least one of the fifth information, the second key and the fourth information to the third network element 103, so that the third network element 103 obtains the above information and the key.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the third network element 103 may receive at least one of the fifth information, the second key, and the fourth information sent by the fourth network element 104 .

In some embodiments, the fourth network element 104 may discover the third network element 103 based on the updated first information to send at least one of the fifth information, the second key and the fourth information to the third network element 103 .

In some embodiments, in some embodiments, the first information may be indication information configured by the first network element for the terminal, and is used to identify the first network element, the second network element, and the third network element.

Specifically, the fourth network element may determine the corresponding third network element based on the updated RID in the updated first information, so that the fourth network element discovers the third network element.

For example, the fourth network element is AUSF ₂ and the third network element is AAnF. AUSF ₂ can determine the AAnF corresponding to the updated RID based on the updated RID, so that AUSF ₂ finds the AAnF and sends at least one of A-KID, SUPI and K _AKMA to the AAnF.

Optionally, in some embodiments, the AF receives the fifth information sent by the terminal, and based on the RID in the fifth information, the AF can discover the third network element, and based on the received fifth information, the AF can obtain K _AF from the third network element. Thus, an AKMA service is implemented, so that the AF can discover the third network element and obtain K _AF when the terminal updates the first information.

Optionally, in some embodiments, the AF may send the fifth information received from the terminal to a network exposure function (NEF), so that the NEF discovers the third network element through the received fifth information, and the NEF may obtain K _AF from the third network element based on the received fifth information. Thus, an AKMA service is implemented, so that the AF can discover the third network element and obtain K _AF when the terminal updates the first information.

The communication method involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure may include at least one of step 2201 to step 2210. For example, step 2201 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, step 2203 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, step 2210 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, steps 2201+2202+2203 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, and steps 2204+2205 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, but are not limited thereto.

In some embodiments, step 2204 and step 2205 are replaceable steps, that is, step 2204 and step 2205 may not be executed.

In some embodiments, step 2204 and step 2205 are optional, and one or more of these steps may be omitted or replaced in different embodiments.

In some embodiments, step 2201 and step 2202 are optional, and one or more of these steps may be omitted or replaced in different embodiments.

In this implementation mode or example, unless there is any contradiction, each step can be independent, arbitrarily combined or exchanged in order, the optional methods or optional examples can be arbitrarily combined, and can be arbitrarily combined with any steps of other implementation modes or other examples.

FIG3a is a flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG3a, the present disclosure embodiment relates to a communication method, which is used for a first network element 101, and the method includes:

Step 3101, determine whether the first condition is met.

For step 3101, reference may be made to step 2101 in FIG. 2a, step 2201 in FIG. 2b, and other related parts in the embodiments involved in FIG. 2a and FIG. 2b, which will not be described in detail here.

In some embodiments, the first network element 101 determines whether a first condition is satisfied to determine whether the terminal receives updated first information.

In some embodiments, the first network element 101 may determine whether the first condition is met based on the second information sent by the terminal and the third information stored in the first network element.

In some embodiments, step 3101 is omitted and the above functions are default or acquiescent.

In some embodiments, the first network element is, for example, a UDM, but is not limited thereto.

Step 3102, discover the second network element.

For step 3102, reference may be made to step 2102 of FIG. 2a, step 2202 of FIG. 2b, and other related parts of the embodiments involved in FIG. 2a and FIG. 2b, which will not be described in detail here.

In some embodiments, the first network element 101 discovers the second network element 102 based on the updated first information to send the first parameter set to the second network element.

In some embodiments, the first network element 101 may directly discover the second network element 102 .

In some embodiments, step 3102 is omitted and the above functions are default or by default.

In some embodiments, the second network element may be discovered by the updated first information.

In some embodiments, the first network element is, for example, a UDM, but is not limited thereto.

In some embodiments, the second network element is, for example, an AUSF, but is not limited thereto.

Step 3103: under the first condition, send an updated first parameter set to the second network element.

For step 3103, reference may be made to step 2103 of FIG. 2a, step 2203 of FIG. 2b, and other related parts of the embodiments involved in FIG. 2a and FIG. 2b, which will not be described in detail here.

In some embodiments, the first network element 101 sends an updated first parameter set to the second network element 102 under a first condition, so that the second network element obtains the above information.

In some embodiments, the second network element 102 may receive an updated first parameter set sent by the first network element 101 under a first condition.

In some embodiments, step 3103 is omitted and the above functions are default or acquiescent.

In some embodiments, the first network element is, for example, a UDM, but is not limited thereto.

In some embodiments, the second network element is, for example, an AUSF, but is not limited thereto.

The communication method involved in the embodiment of the present disclosure may include at least one of step 3101 to step 3103. For example, step 3101 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, step 3103 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, and steps 3102+3103 may be implemented as independent embodiments but are not limited thereto.

In some embodiments, step 3101 and step 3102 are optional, and one or more of these steps may be omitted or replaced in different embodiments.

In this implementation mode or example, unless there is any contradiction, each step can be independent, arbitrarily combined or exchanged in order, the optional methods or optional examples can be arbitrarily combined, and can be arbitrarily combined with any steps of other implementation modes or other examples.

FIG3b is a flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG3b, the present disclosure embodiment relates to a communication method, which is used for a first network element 101, and the method includes:

Step 3201, discover the second network element.

For step 3201, reference may be made to step 2102 of FIG. 2a, step 2202 of FIG. 2b, step 3102 of FIG. 3a, and other related parts in the embodiments involved in FIG. 2a, FIG. 2b and FIG. 3a, which will not be described in detail here.

In some embodiments, the first network element 101 discovers the second network element 102 based on the updated first information to send the first parameter set to the second network element.

In some embodiments, the first network element 101 may directly discover the second network element 102 .

In some embodiments, step 3201 is omitted and the above functions are default or by default.

In some embodiments, the second network element may be discovered by the updated first information.

In some embodiments, the first network element is, for example, a UDM, but is not limited thereto.

In some embodiments, the second network element is, for example, an AUSF, but is not limited thereto.

Step 3202: Send an updated first parameter set to the second network element.

For step 3202, reference may be made to step 2103 of FIG. 2a, step 2203 of FIG. 2b, step 3103 of FIG. 3a, and other related parts in the embodiments involved in FIG. 2a, FIG. 2b and FIG. 3a, which will not be described in detail here.

In some embodiments, the first network element 101 sends the updated first parameter set to the second network element 102 so that the second network element obtains the above information. The first network element 101 may send the updated first parameter set to the second network element 102 under the first condition; or directly send the updated first parameter set to the second network element 102 under the first condition. Send the updated first parameter set.

In some embodiments, the second network element 102 may receive the updated first parameter set sent by the first network element 101 .

In some embodiments, step 3202 is omitted and the above functions are default or by default.

In some embodiments, the first network element is, for example, a UDM, but is not limited thereto.

In some embodiments, the second network element is, for example, an AUSF, but is not limited thereto.

For a detailed description of steps 3201 - 3202 , please refer to the embodiments shown in FIG. 2 a and FIG. 2 b .

The communication method involved in the embodiment of the present disclosure may include at least one of step 3201 and step 3202. For example, step 3201 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, and step 3202 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, but is not limited thereto.

In this implementation mode or example, unless there is any contradiction, each step can be independent, arbitrarily combined or exchanged in order, and the optional methods or optional examples can be arbitrarily combined and can be arbitrarily combined with other implementation modes or examples.

FIG3c is a flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG3c, the present disclosure embodiment relates to a communication method, which is used for a first network element 101, and the method includes:

Step 3301: Send an updated first parameter set to a second network element.

For step 3301, reference may be made to step 2103 of FIG. 2a, step 2203 of FIG. 2b, step 3103 of FIG. 3a, step 3202 of FIG. 3b, and other related parts in the embodiments involved in FIG. 2a, FIG. 2b, FIG. 3a and FIG. 3b, which will not be described in detail here.

In some embodiments, the first network element 101 sends the updated first parameter set to the second network element 102 so that the second network element obtains the above information. The first network element 101 may send the updated first parameter set to the second network element 102 under the first condition, or may directly send the updated first parameter set to the second network element 102.

In some embodiments, the second network element 102 may receive the updated first parameter set sent by the first network element 101 .

In some embodiments, the first parameter set is used for application authentication and key management AKMA services, and the first parameter set includes at least updated first information.

In some embodiments, the first network element 101 sends a first parameter set to the second network element under a first condition, where the first condition is that the terminal receives updated first information configured by the first network element 101 .

In some embodiments, the first network element 101 determines whether the first condition is satisfied. Specifically, the first network element 101 determines whether the second information sent by the terminal is consistent with the third information stored in the first network element 101. If the second information is consistent with the third information, it is determined that the first condition is satisfied.

In some embodiments, the first parameter set also includes fourth information, and the fourth information is used to identify the terminal.

In some embodiments, the first network element 101 discovers the second network element 102 based on the updated first information, and sends 102 the first parameter set to the second network element.

In some embodiments, the first network element is, for example, a UDM, but is not limited thereto.

In some embodiments, the second network element is, for example, an AUSF, but is not limited thereto.

For a detailed description of step 3301, please refer to the embodiments shown in FIG. 2a and FIG. 2b above.

FIG4a is a flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG4a, the present disclosure embodiment relates to a communication method, which is used for a second network element 102, and the method includes:

Step 4101, receiving a first parameter set.

For step 4101, reference may be made to step 2103 of FIG. 2a, step 2203 of FIG. 2b, and other related parts of the embodiments involved in FIG. 2a and FIG. 2b, which will not be described in detail here.

In some embodiments, the second network element 102 may receive a first parameter set sent by the first network element 101 .

In some embodiments, the first network element 101 may send a first parameter set to the second network element 102 .

In some embodiments, step 4101 is omitted and the above functions are default or acquiescent.

In some embodiments, the first network element is, for example, a UDM, but is not limited thereto.

In some embodiments, the second network element is, for example, an AUSF, but is not limited thereto.

Step 4102: Determine whether the second network element stores unupdated first information.

For step 4102, reference may be made to step 2104 of FIG. 2a, step 2204 of FIG. 2b, and other related parts of the embodiments involved in FIG. 2a and FIG. 2b, which will not be described in detail here.

In some embodiments, the second network element 102 may determine that the second network element stores unupdated first information.

In some embodiments, step 4102 is omitted and the above functions are default or acquiescent.

In some embodiments, the second network element is, for example, an AUSF, but is not limited thereto.

Step 4103, replacing the non-updated first information with the updated first information.

For step 4103, reference may be made to step 2105 of FIG. 2a, step 2205 of FIG. 2b, and other related parts of the embodiments involved in FIG. 2a and FIG. 2b, which will not be described in detail here.

In some embodiments, the second network element 102 may replace the non-updated first information with the updated first information.

In some embodiments, step 4103 is omitted and the above functions are default or acquiescent.

In some embodiments, the second network element is, for example, an AUSF, but is not limited thereto.

Step 4104, generate the fifth information.

For step 4104, reference may be made to step 2106 of FIG. 2a, step 2206 of FIG. 2b, and other related parts of the embodiments involved in FIG. 2a and FIG. 2b, which will not be described in detail here.

In some embodiments, the second network element 102 may generate the fifth information.

In some embodiments, the fifth information may be generated based on the updated first information and/or the fourth information.

In some embodiments, the fifth information is used to identify the second key.

In some embodiments, step 4104 is omitted and the above functions are default or acquiescent.

In some embodiments, the second network element is, for example, an AUSF, but is not limited thereto.

Step 4105, generate a second key.

For step 4105, reference may be made to step 2107 of FIG. 2a, step 2207 of FIG. 2b, and other related parts of the embodiments involved in FIG. 2a and FIG. 2b, which will not be described in detail here.

In some embodiments, the second network element 102 may generate a second key.

In some embodiments, the second key may be generated based on the fourth information and the first key stored in the second network element 102 .

In some embodiments, step 4105 is omitted and the above functions are default or acquiescent.

In some embodiments, the second network element is, for example, an AUSF, but is not limited thereto.

Step 4106, discover the third network element.

For step 4106, reference may be made to step 2108 in FIG. 2a and other related parts of the embodiment involved in FIG. 2a, which will not be described in detail here.

In some embodiments, the second network element 102 may discover the third network element.

In some embodiments, the third network element may be discovered based on the updated first information.

In some embodiments, step 4106 is omitted and the above functions are default or acquiescent.

In some embodiments, the second network element is, for example, an AUSF, but is not limited thereto.

In some embodiments, the third network element is, for example, AAnF, but is not limited thereto.

Step 4107, sending at least one of the fifth information, the second key and the fourth information.

For step 4107, reference may be made to step 2109 in FIG. 2a and other related parts of the embodiment involved in FIG. 2a, which will not be described in detail here.

In some embodiments, the second network element 102 may send at least one of the fifth information, the second key and the fourth information to the third network element 103 .

In some embodiments, the third network element 103 may receive at least one of the fifth information, the second key, and the fourth information sent by the second network element 102 .

In some embodiments, step 4106 is omitted and the above functions are default or acquiescent.

In some embodiments, the second network element is, for example, an AUSF, but is not limited thereto.

In some embodiments, the third network element is, for example, AAnF, but is not limited thereto.

The communication method involved in the embodiment of the present disclosure may include at least one of step 4101 to step 3107. For example, step 4101 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, step 4104 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, and steps 4102+4103 may be implemented as independent embodiments but are not limited thereto.

In some embodiments, step 4102 and step 4103 are optional, and one or more of these steps may be omitted or replaced in different embodiments.

In this implementation mode or example, unless there is any contradiction, each step can be independent, arbitrarily combined or exchanged in order, the optional methods or optional examples can be arbitrarily combined, and can be arbitrarily combined with any steps of other implementation modes or other examples.

FIG4b is a flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG4b, the present disclosure embodiment relates to a communication method, which is used for a second network element 102, and the method includes:

Step 4201, receiving a first parameter set.

For step 4201, reference may be made to step 2103 of FIG. 2a, step 2203 of FIG. 2b, step 4101 of FIG. 4a, and other related parts in the embodiments involved in FIG. 2a, FIG. 2b and FIG. 4a, which will not be described in detail here.

In some embodiments, the second network element 102 may receive a first parameter set sent by the first network element 101 .

In some embodiments, the first network element 101 may send a first parameter set to the second network element 102 .

In some embodiments, step 4201 is omitted and the above functions are default or acquiescent.

In some embodiments, the first network element is, for example, a UDM, but is not limited thereto.

In some embodiments, the second network element is, for example, AUSF ₁ , but is not limited thereto.

Step 4202, determining that the second network element stores unupdated first information.

For step 4202, reference may be made to step 2104 of FIG. 2a, step 2204 of FIG. 2b, step 4102 of FIG. 4a, and other related parts in the embodiments involved in FIG. 2a, FIG. 2b and FIG. 4a, which will not be described in detail here.

In some embodiments, the second network element 102 may determine that the second network element stores unupdated first information.

In some embodiments, step 4202 is omitted and the above functions are default or by default.

In some embodiments, the second network element is, for example, AUSF ₁ , but is not limited thereto.

Step 4203, replacing the non-updated first information with the updated first information.

For step 4203, reference may be made to step 2105 of FIG. 2a, step 2205 of FIG. 2b, step 4103 of FIG. 4a, and other related parts in the embodiments involved in FIG. 2a, FIG. 2b and FIG. 4a, which will not be described in detail here.

In some embodiments, the second network element 102 may replace the non-updated first information with the updated first information.

In some embodiments, step 4303 is omitted and the above functions are default or acquiescent.

In some embodiments, the second network element is, for example, AUSF ₁ , but is not limited thereto.

Step 4204, generate the fifth information.

For step 4204, reference may be made to step 2106 of FIG. 2a, step 2206 of FIG. 2b, step 4104 of FIG. 4a, and other related parts in the embodiments involved in FIG. 2a, FIG. 2b and FIG. 4a, which will not be described in detail here.

In some embodiments, the second network element 102 may generate the fifth information.

In some embodiments, the fifth information may be generated based on the updated first information and/or the fourth information.

In some embodiments, the fifth information is used to identify the second key.

In some embodiments, step 4204 is omitted and the above functions are default or by default.

In some embodiments, the second network element is, for example, an AUSF, but is not limited thereto.

Step 4205, generate a second key.

For step 4205, reference may be made to step 2107 of FIG. 2a, step 2207 of FIG. 2b, step 4105 of FIG. 4a, and other related parts in the embodiments involved in FIG. 2a, FIG. 2b and FIG. 4a, which will not be described in detail here.

In some embodiments, the second network element 102 may generate a second key.

In some embodiments, the second key may be generated based on the fourth information and the first key stored in the second network element 102 .

In some embodiments, step 4205 is omitted and the above functions are default or default.

In some embodiments, the second network element is, for example, AUSF ₁ , but is not limited thereto.

Step 4206, discover the fourth network element.

For step 4206, reference may be made to step 2208 in FIG. 2b and other related parts of the embodiment involved in FIG. 2b , which will not be described in detail here.

In some embodiments, the second network element 102 may discover the fourth network element.

In some embodiments, the fourth network element may be discovered based on the updated first information.

In some embodiments, step 4206 is omitted and the above functions are default or default.

In some embodiments, the second network element is, for example, AUSF ₁ , but is not limited thereto.

In some embodiments, the fourth network element is, for example, AUSF ₂ , but is not limited thereto.

Step 4207, sending at least one of the fifth information, the second key and the fourth information.

For step 4207, reference may be made to step 2209 in FIG. 2b and other related parts of the embodiment involved in FIG. 2b , which will not be described in detail here.

In some embodiments, the second network element 102 may send at least one of the fifth information, the second key, and the fourth information to the fourth network element 104 .

In some embodiments, the fourth network element 104 may receive at least one of the fifth information, the second key and the fourth information sent by the second network element 102 .

In some embodiments, step 4207 is omitted and the above functions are default or default.

In some embodiments, the second network element is, for example, AUSF ₁ , but is not limited thereto.

In some embodiments, the fourth network element is, for example, AUSF ₂ , but is not limited thereto.

The communication method involved in the embodiment of the present disclosure may include at least one of step 4201 to step 4207. For example, step 4201 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, step 4204 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, and steps 4202+4203 may be implemented as independent embodiments but are not limited thereto.

In some embodiments, step 4202 and step 4203 are optional, and one or more of these steps may be omitted or replaced in different embodiments.

In this implementation mode or example, unless there is any contradiction, each step can be independent, arbitrarily combined or exchanged in order, the optional methods or optional examples can be arbitrarily combined, and can be arbitrarily combined with any steps of other implementation modes or other examples.

FIG4c is a flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG4c, the present disclosure embodiment relates to a communication method, which is used for the second network element 102, and the method includes:

Step 4301, receiving a first parameter set.

For step 4301, reference may be made to step 2103 of FIG. 2a, step 2203 of FIG. 2b, step 4101 of FIG. 4a, step 4201 of FIG. 4b, and other related parts in the embodiments involved in FIG. 2a, FIG. 2b, FIG. 4a and FIG. 4b, which will not be repeated here.

In some embodiments, the second network element 102 may receive a first parameter set sent by the first network element 101 .

In some embodiments, the first network element 101 may send a first parameter set to the second network element 102 .

In some embodiments, step 4301 is omitted and the above functions are default or acquiescent.

In some embodiments, the first network element is, for example, a UDM, but is not limited thereto.

In some embodiments, the second network element is, for example, an AUSF, but is not limited thereto.

Step 4302, generate the fifth information.

For step 4302, reference may be made to step 2106 of FIG. 2a, step 2206 of FIG. 2b, step 4104 of FIG. 4a, step 4204 of FIG. 4b, and other related parts in the embodiments involved in FIG. 2a, FIG. 2b, FIG. 4a and FIG. 4b, which will not be repeated here.

In some embodiments, the second network element 102 may generate the fifth information.

In some embodiments, the fifth information may be generated based on the updated first information and/or the fourth information.

In some embodiments, the fifth information is used to identify the second key.

In some embodiments, step 4302 is omitted and the above functions are default or default.

In some embodiments, the second network element is, for example, an AUSF, but is not limited thereto.

Step 4303, generate a second key.

For step 4303, reference may be made to step 2107 of FIG. 2a, step 2207 of FIG. 2b, step 4106 of FIG. 4a, step 4206 of FIG. 4b, and other related parts in the embodiments involved in FIG. 2a, FIG. 2b, FIG. 4a and FIG. 4b, which will not be repeated here.

In some embodiments, the second network element 102 may generate a second key.

In some embodiments, the second key may be generated based on the fourth information and the first key stored in the second network element 102 .

In some embodiments, step 4303 is omitted and the above functions are default or acquiescent.

In some embodiments, the second network element is, for example, an AUSF, but is not limited thereto.

Step 4304, discover the third network element.

For step 4304, reference may be made to step 2108 of FIG. 2a, step 4107 of FIG. 4a, and other related parts of the embodiments involved in FIG. 2a and FIG. 4a, which will not be described in detail here.

In some embodiments, the second network element 102 may discover the third network element.

In some embodiments, the third network element may be discovered based on the updated first information.

In some embodiments, step 4304 is omitted and the above functions are default or by default.

In some embodiments, the second network element is, for example, an AUSF, but is not limited thereto.

In some embodiments, the third network element is, for example, AAnF, but is not limited thereto.

Step 4305, sending at least one of the fifth information, the second key and the fourth information.

For step 4305, reference may be made to step 2109 of FIG. 2a, step 4108 of FIG. 4a, and other related parts of the embodiments involved in FIG. 2a and FIG. 4a, which will not be described in detail here.

In some embodiments, the second network element 102 may send at least one of the fifth information, the second key and the fourth information to the third network element 103 .

In some embodiments, the third network element 103 may receive at least one of the fifth information, the second key, and the fourth information sent by the second network element 102 .

In some embodiments, step 4305 is omitted and the above functions are default or default.

In some embodiments, the second network element is, for example, an AUSF, but is not limited thereto.

In some embodiments, the third network element is, for example, AAnF, but is not limited thereto.

The communication method involved in the embodiment of the present disclosure may include at least one of step 4301 to step 4305. For example, step 4301 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, step 4305 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, and step 4301+4302 may be implemented as an independent embodiment but is not limited thereto.

In some embodiments, steps 4302-4305 are optional, and one or more of these steps may be omitted or replaced in different embodiments.

In this implementation mode or example, unless there is any contradiction, each step can be independent, arbitrarily combined or exchanged in order, the optional methods or optional examples can be arbitrarily combined, and can be arbitrarily combined with any steps of other implementation modes or other examples.

FIG4d is a flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG4d, the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a communication method, which is used for the second network element 102, and the method includes:

Step 4401, receiving a first parameter set.

For step 4401, reference may be made to step 2104 of FIG. 2a, step 2204 of FIG. 2b, step 4101 of FIG. 4a, step 4201 of FIG. 4b, step 4301 of FIG. 4c, and other related parts in the embodiments involved in FIG. 2a, FIG. 2b, FIG. 4a, FIG. 4b and FIG. 4c, which will not be repeated here.

In some embodiments, the second network element 102 may receive a first parameter set sent by the first network element 101 .

In some embodiments, the first network element 101 may send a first parameter set to the second network element 102 .

In some embodiments, step 4401 is omitted and the above functions are default or acquiescent.

In some embodiments, the first network element is, for example, a UDM, but is not limited thereto.

In some embodiments, the second network element is, for example, AUSF ₁ , but is not limited thereto.

Step 4402, generate the fifth information.

For step 4402, reference may be made to step 2106 of FIG. 2a, step 2206 of FIG. 2b, step 4104 of FIG. 4a, step 4204 of FIG. 4b, step 4302 of FIG. 4c, and other related parts in the embodiments involved in FIG. 2a, FIG. 2b, FIG. 4a, FIG. 4b and FIG. 4c, which will not be repeated here.

In some embodiments, the second network element 102 may generate the fifth information.

In some embodiments, the fifth information may be generated based on the updated first information and/or the fourth information.

In some embodiments, the fifth information is used to identify the second key.

In some embodiments, step 4402 is omitted and the above functions are default or acquiescent.

In some embodiments, the second network element is, for example, an AUSF, but is not limited thereto.

Step 4403, generate a second key.

For step 4403, reference may be made to step 2107 of FIG. 2a, step 2207 of FIG. 2b, step 4105 of FIG. 4a, step 4205 of FIG. 4b, step 4303 of FIG. 4c, and other related parts in the embodiments involved in FIG. 2a, FIG. 2b, FIG. 4a, FIG. 4b and FIG. 4c, which will not be repeated here.

In some embodiments, the second network element 102 may generate a second key.

In some embodiments, the second key may be generated based on the fourth information and the first key stored in the second network element 102 .

In some embodiments, step 4403 is omitted and the above functions are default or default.

In some embodiments, the second network element is, for example, AUSF ₁ , but is not limited thereto.

Step 4404, discover the fourth network element.

Step 4404 can refer to step 2208 of FIG. 2b, step 4206 of FIG. 4b, and other related embodiments of FIG. 2b and FIG. 4b. part, which will not be described here.

In some embodiments, the second network element 102 may discover the fourth network element.

In some embodiments, the fourth network element may be discovered based on the updated first information.

In some embodiments, step 4404 is omitted and the above functions are default or by default.

In some embodiments, the second network element is, for example, AUSF ₁ , but is not limited thereto.

In some embodiments, the fourth network element is, for example, AUSF ₂ , but is not limited thereto.

Step 4405, sending at least one of the fifth information, the second key and the fourth information.

For step 4405, reference may be made to step 2209 of FIG. 2b, step 4207 of FIG. 4b, and other related parts of the embodiments involved in FIG. 2b and FIG. 4b, which will not be described in detail here.

In some embodiments, the second network element 102 may send at least one of the fifth information, the second key, and the fourth information to the fourth network element 104 .

In some embodiments, the fourth network element 104 may receive at least one of the fifth information, the second key, and the fourth information sent by the second network element 102 .

In some embodiments, step 4405 is omitted and the above functions are default or acquiescent.

In some embodiments, the second network element is, for example, AUSF ₁ , but is not limited thereto.

In some embodiments, the fourth network element is, for example, AUSF ₂ , but is not limited thereto.

The communication method involved in the embodiment of the present disclosure may include at least one of step 4401 to step 4405. For example, step 4401 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, step 4405 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, and step 4401+4402 may be implemented as an independent embodiment but is not limited thereto.

In some embodiments, steps 4402 to 4405 are optional, and one or more of these steps may be omitted or replaced in different embodiments.

In this implementation mode or example, unless there is any contradiction, each step can be independent, arbitrarily combined or exchanged in order, the optional methods or optional examples can be arbitrarily combined, and can be arbitrarily combined with any steps of other implementation modes or other examples.

FIG4e is a flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG4e, the present disclosure embodiment relates to a communication method, which is used for the second network element 102, and the method includes:

Step 4501, receiving a first parameter set.

For step 4501, reference may be made to step 2103 of FIG. 2a, step 2203 of FIG. 2b, step 4101 of FIG. 4a, step 4201 of FIG. 4b, step 4301 of FIG. 4c, step 4401 of FIG. 4d, and other related parts in the embodiments involved in FIG. 2a, FIG. 2b, FIG. 4a, FIG. 4b, FIG. 4c and FIG. 4d, which will not be repeated here.

In some embodiments, the second network element 102 may receive a first parameter set sent by the first network element 101, wherein the first parameter set is used for application authentication and key management AKMA service, and the first parameter set includes at least updated first information.

In some embodiments, the first parameter set also includes fourth information, and the fourth information is used to identify the terminal.

In some embodiments, the second network element 102 may generate fifth information based on the updated first information and/or fourth information, wherein the fifth information is used to identify the second key.

In some embodiments, the second network element 102 may generate a second key based on the fourth information and the first key stored in the second network element.

In some embodiments, the second network element 102 may discover the third network element 103 based on the updated first information.

In some embodiments, the second network element 102 may send at least one of the following to the third network element: fifth information, second key, fourth information.

In some embodiments, the second network element 102 may discover the fourth network element 104 based on the updated first information, and send at least one of the following to the fourth network element 104: the fifth information, the second key, and the fourth information. The fourth network element 104 is configured to discover the third network element 103 based on the updated first information.

In some embodiments, the fourth network element 104 is further configured to send at least one of the following to the third network element 103: fifth information, second key, fourth information.

In some embodiments, the second network element 102 may determine that the second network element 102 stores unupdated first information; and replace the unupdated first information with the updated first information.

In some embodiments, the second network element 102 may determine that the second network element 102 stores non-updated fifth information generated using non-updated first information; and generate the fifth information using the updated first information.

In some embodiments, the second network element 102 may send at least one of the following to the third network element 103 or the fourth network element 104: fifth information, second key, fourth information.

In some embodiments, the first network element is, for example, a UDM, but is not limited thereto.

In some embodiments, the second network element is, for example, AUSF ₁ , but is not limited thereto.

In some embodiments, the third network element is, for example, AAnF, but is not limited thereto.

In some embodiments, the fourth network element is, for example, AUSF ₂ , but is not limited thereto.

For a detailed description of step 4501, please refer to the embodiments shown in FIG. 2a and FIG. 2b above.

FIG5 is a flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG5, the present disclosure embodiment relates to a communication method, which is used for a third network element 103, and the method includes:

Step 5101, receiving at least one of the fourth information, the fifth information, and the second key.

For step 5101, reference may be made to step 2109 in FIG. 2a, step 2210 in FIG. 2b, and other related parts of the embodiments involved in FIG. 2a and FIG. 2b, which will not be described in detail here.

In some embodiments, the third network element 103 can receive at least one of the fourth information, the fifth information, and the second key sent by the second network element 102 or the fourth network element 104. The fifth information is generated by the updated first information included in the first parameter set, and the first parameter set is used for application authentication and key management AKMA service.

In some embodiments, the first parameter set also includes fourth information, and the fourth information is used to identify the terminal.

In some embodiments, the fifth information is used to identify the second key.

In some embodiments, the third network element 103 is discovered based on the updated first information.

In some embodiments, the second network element is, for example, AUSF ₁ , but is not limited thereto.

In some embodiments, the third network element is, for example, AAnF, but is not limited thereto.

In some embodiments, the fourth network element is, for example, AUSF ₂ , but is not limited thereto.

For a detailed description of step 5501, please refer to the embodiments shown in FIG. 2a and FIG. 2b above.

In some embodiments, the above method may include the method described in the above embodiments of the first network element side, the second network element side, the third network element side, etc., which will not be repeated here.

FIG6a is an interactive schematic diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG6a, the present disclosure embodiment designs a communication method, and the method includes:

Step 6101: The first network element 101 sends a first parameter to the second network element 102.

Optional implementations of step 6101 can be found in step 2101 of Figure 2a, step 2201 of Figure 2b, step 3101 of Figure 3a, step 3201 of Figure 3b, step 3301 of Figure 3c and other related parts in the embodiments involved in Figures 2a, 2b, 3a, 3b and 3c, which will not be repeated here.

Step 6102, the second network element 102 sends at least one of the fourth information, the fifth information, and the second key to the third network element 103.

Optional implementations of step 6102 can refer to step 2109 of Figure 2a, step 4107 of Figure 4a, step 4305 of Figure 4c, step 5101 of Figure 5 and other related parts in the embodiments involved in Figures 2a, 4a, 4c and 5, which will not be repeated here.

In some embodiments, the above method may include the method described in the above embodiments of the first network element side, the second network element side, the third network element side, etc., which will not be repeated here.

FIG6b is an interactive schematic diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG6b, the present disclosure embodiment designs a communication method, and the method includes:

Step 6201: The first network element 101 sends a first parameter to the second network element 102.

Optional implementations of step 6201 can be found in step 2101 of Figure 2a, step 2201 of Figure 2b, step 3101 of Figure 3a, step 3201 of Figure 3b, step 3301 of Figure 3c, step 6101 of Figure 6a and other related parts in the embodiments involved in Figures 2a, 2b, 3a, 3b, 3c and 6a, which will not be repeated here.

Step 6202, the second network element 102 sends at least one of the fourth information, the fifth information, and the second key to the fourth network element 104.

Optional implementations of step 6202 may refer to step 2209 of FIG. 2b , step 4207 of FIG. 4b , step 4205 of FIG. 4d and other related parts in the embodiments involved in FIG. 2a , FIG. 4b , and FIG. 4d , which will not be described in detail here.

Step 6203 , the fourth network element 104 sends at least one of the fourth information, the fifth information, and the second key to the third network element 103 .

Optional implementations of step 6202 may refer to step 2210 of FIG. 2b , step 5101 of FIG. 5 , and other related parts of the embodiments involved in FIG. 2b and FIG. 5 , which will not be described in detail here.

In some embodiments, the above method may include the method described in the above embodiments of the first network element side, the second network element side, the third network element side, etc., which will not be repeated here.

FIG7a is an interactive schematic diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG7a, the communication method of the embodiment of the present disclosure includes:

Step 7101, sending SUPI and updated RID.

Optionally, in some embodiments, the UDM may send the SUPI and the updated RID to the AUSF.

Optionally, in some embodiments, before executing step 7101, the UDM further includes determining that the UE successfully receives the updated RID, that is, the UDM compares the received UPU-MAC-I _UE with the UPU-XMAC-I _UE temporarily stored by the UDM, and if the received UPU-MAC-I _UE is the same as the UPU-XMAC-I _UE, the UDM can confirm that the UE successfully receives the updated RID. Then the UDM can send the SUPI and the updated RID to the AUSF.

Step 7102: Send updated A-KID, SUPI and K _AKMA to AAnF.

Optionally, in some embodiments, the AUSF may send the SUPI and the updated RID to the AAnF.

Optionally, in some embodiments, the AUSF receives the SUPI and the updated RID, and the AUSF may determine to generate an updated A-KID based on the updated RID and the SUPI. At the same time, the AUSF may generate K _AKMA based on the received SUPI and the stored K _AUSF .

Optionally, in some embodiments, the AUSF may discover the AANF based on the updated RID.

In this embodiment, AUSF may delete or have deleted the unsaved and unupdated A-KID and K _AKMA , that is, AUSF does not store the unupdated A-KID and K _AKMA locally, then AUSF needs to generate A-KID and K _AKMA in real time based on the updated RID, SUPI and stored K _AUSF .

Step 7103, send confirmation message.

Optionally, in some embodiments, the AAnF may send a confirmation message to the AUSF, indicating that the updated A-KID, SUPI and K _AKMA have been received.

Step 7104: Get K _AF based on the updated A-KID.

Optionally, in some embodiments, the AF may obtain K _AF from the AAnF using the updated A-KID sent by the UE.

Optionally, in some embodiments, the AF may discover the AAnF using an updated RID, wherein the updated RID is included in the A-KID sent by the UE.

Optionally, in some embodiments, the AF may send an updated A-KID to the NEF, so that the NEF discovers the AAnF through the updated A-KID.

Optionally, in some embodiments, the AF may send an updated A-KID to the NEF, so that the NEF obtains K _AF from the AAnF through the updated A-KID.

The communication method involved in the embodiment of the present disclosure may include at least one of step 7101 to step 7104. For example, step 7101 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, step 7104 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, and step 7101+7102 may be implemented as an independent embodiment but is not limited thereto.

In some embodiments, steps 7102 to 7104 are optional, and one or more of these steps may be omitted or replaced in different embodiments.

In this implementation mode or example, unless there is any contradiction, each step can be independent, arbitrarily combined or exchanged in order, the optional methods or optional examples can be arbitrarily combined, and can be arbitrarily combined with any steps of other implementation modes or other examples.

FIG7b is an interactive schematic diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG7b, the communication method of the embodiment of the present disclosure includes:

Step 7201, send SUPI and updated RID.

Optionally, in some embodiments, the UDM may send the SUPI and the updated RID to the AUSF.

Optionally, in some embodiments, before executing step 7201, the UDM further includes determining that the UE successfully receives the updated RID, that is, the UDM compares the received UPU-MAC-I _UE with the UPU-XMAC-I _UE temporarily stored by the UDM, and if the received UPU-MAC-I _UE is the same as the UPU-XMAC-I _UE, the UDM can confirm that the UE successfully receives the updated RID. Then the UDM can send the SUPI and the updated RID to the AUSF.

Step 7202, obtain A-KID and K _AKMA .

Optionally, in some embodiments, AUSF ₁ receives the SUPI and the updated RID, and AUSF 1 may determine the A-KID based on the updated RID and SUPI.

Optionally, in some embodiments, AUSF ₁ determines K _AKMA based on the received SUPI and the stored K _AUSF .

Optionally, in some embodiments, AUSF ₁ may discover AUSF ₂ based on the updated RID.

Step 7203, sending A-KID, SUPI and K _AKMA .

Optionally, in some embodiments, AUSF ₁ may send SUPI, A-KID, K _AKMA to AUSF ₂ .

Step 7204, send A-KID, SUPI and K _AKMA .

Optionally, in some embodiments, AUSF ₂ may send SUPI, A-KID, K _AKMA to AAnF.

Optionally, in some embodiments, AUSF ₂ may discover the AAnF based on the updated RID.

Step 7205, send confirmation message.

Optionally, in some embodiments, the AAnF may send a confirmation message to the AUSF ₂ , indicating that the updated A-KID, SUPI and K _AKMA have been received.

Step 7206, obtain K _AF based on the updated A-KID.

Optionally, in some embodiments, the AF may retrieve K _AF from the AAnF using the updated A-KID sent by the UE.

Optionally, in some embodiments, the AF may discover the AAnF using an updated RID, wherein the updated RID is included in the A-KID sent by the UE.

Optionally, in some embodiments, the AF may send an updated A-KID to the NEF, so that the NEF discovers the AAnF through the updated A-KID.

Optionally, in some embodiments, the AF may send an updated A-KID to the NEF, so that the NEF obtains K _AF from the AAnF through the updated A-KID.

The communication method involved in the embodiment of the present disclosure may include at least one of step 7201 to step 7206. For example, step 7201 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, step 7204 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, and step 7201+7202 may be implemented as an independent embodiment but is not limited thereto.

In some embodiments, steps 7202-7206 are optional, and one or more of these steps may be omitted or replaced in different embodiments.

In this implementation mode or example, unless there is any contradiction, each step can be independent, arbitrarily combined or exchanged in order, the optional methods or optional examples can be arbitrarily combined, and can be arbitrarily combined with any steps of other implementation modes or other examples.

FIG7c is an interactive schematic diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG7c, the communication method of the embodiment of the present disclosure includes:

Step 7301, optionally, in some embodiments, the UDM may send the SUPI and updated RID to the AUSF.

Optionally, in some embodiments, before executing step 7301, the UDM further includes determining that the UE successfully receives the updated RID, that is, the UDM compares the received UPU-MAC-I _UE with the UPU-XMAC-I _UE temporarily stored by the UDM, and if the received UPU-MAC-I _UE is the same as the UPU-XMAC-I _UE, the UDM can confirm that the UE successfully receives the updated RID. Then the UDM can send the SUPI and the updated RID to the AUSF.

Step 7302, determine A-KID and K _AKMA .

Optionally, in some embodiments, the AUSF receives the SUPI and the new RID and may check whether the A-KID should be updated.

Optionally, in some embodiments, the SUPI received by the AUSF has been locally stored, and the AUSF may update the locally stored A-KID identified by the SUPI.

Specifically, the AUSF may generate an updated A-KID by replacing the RID in the original A-KID with the updated RID.

Optionally, in some embodiments, the AUSF may send the SUPI and the updated RID to the AAnF.

Optionally, the AUSF may determine a locally stored K _AKMA based on the received SUPI.

Optionally, in some embodiments, the AUSF may discover the AAnF based on the updated RID.

In this embodiment, the AUSF locally stores the unupdated A-Kid and Kakma. The AUSF may determine the unupdated A-KID and the locally stored Kakma based on the received SUPI, and update the unupdated A-KID based on the received updated RID.

Step 7303, sending updated A-KID, SUPI and K _AKMA .

Optionally, in some embodiments, the AUSF may send the updated A-KID, SUPI and locally stored K _AKMA to the AAnF.

Step 7304, send confirmation message.

Optionally, in some embodiments, the AAnF may send a confirmation message to the AUSF, indicating that the updated A-KID, SUPI and K _AKMA have been received.

Step 7305: Get K _AF based on the updated A-KID.

Optionally, in some embodiments, the AF may retrieve K _AF from the AAnF using the updated A-KID sent by the UE.

Optionally, in some embodiments, the AF may discover the AAnF based on an updated RID, wherein the updated RID is included in the A-KID sent by the UE.

Optionally, in some embodiments, the AF may send an updated A-KID to the NEF, so that the NEF discovers the AAnF through the updated A-KID.

Optionally, in some embodiments, the AF may send an updated A-KID to the NEF, so that the NEF obtains K _AF from the AAnF through the updated A-KID.

The communication method involved in the embodiment of the present disclosure may include at least one of step 7301 to step 7304. For example, step 7301 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, step 7304 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, and step 7301+7302 may be implemented as an independent embodiment but is not limited thereto.

In some embodiments, steps 7302-7304 are optional, and one or more of these steps may be omitted or replaced in different embodiments.

In this implementation mode or example, unless there is any contradiction, each step can be independent, arbitrarily combined or exchanged in order, the optional methods or optional examples can be arbitrarily combined, and can be arbitrarily combined with any steps of other implementation modes or other examples.

The embodiments of the present disclosure also propose a device for implementing any of the above methods, for example, a device is proposed, the above device includes a unit or module for implementing each step performed by the terminal 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 a network device (such as an access network device, a core network function node, a core network device, etc.) 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, and instructions are stored in the memory. 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 embodiments of the present disclosure, 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 the hardware circuit, and the logical relationship of the above hardware circuit is fixed. Or reconfigurable, for example, a processor is 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 processor loads a configuration document to implement the process of hardware circuit configuration, which can 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 an ASIC, such as a neural network processing unit (NPU), a tensor processing unit (TPU), a deep learning processing unit (DPU), etc.

FIG8a is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device proposed in an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG8a, the communication device includes: a transceiver module 8101. In some embodiments, the transceiver module is used to send a first parameter set to a second network element, the first parameter set is used to apply authentication and key management AKMA services, and the first parameter set includes at least updated first information. Optionally, the transceiver module is used to execute at least one of the communication steps such as sending and/or receiving (for example, step 2103, step 2203, but not limited to this) executed by the first network element 101 in any of the above methods, which will not be repeated here. Optionally, in some embodiments, the communication device further includes a processing module 8102, and the processing module is used to execute at least one of the other steps (for example, step 2101, step 2102, step 2201, step 2202, but not limited to this) executed by the first network element 101 in any of the above methods, which will not be repeated here.

FIG8b is a schematic diagram of the structure of the communication device proposed in the embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG8b, the communication device includes: a transceiver module 8201. In some embodiments, the transceiver module is used to receive a first parameter set sent by a first network element, wherein the first parameter set is used for application authentication and key management AKMA service, and the first parameter set includes at least updated first information. Optionally, the transceiver module is used to execute at least one of the communication steps such as sending and/or receiving (for example, step 2103, step 2109, step 2203, step 2209, but not limited thereto) performed by the second network element 102 in any of the above methods, which will not be repeated here. Optionally, in some embodiments, the communication device also includes a processing module 8202, which is used to execute at least one of the other steps performed by the first network element 101 in any of the above methods (for example, step 2104, step 2105, step 2106, step 2107, step 2108, step 2204, step 2205, step 2206, step 2207, step 2208, but not limited to these), which are not repeated here.

FIG8c is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device proposed in an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG8c, the communication device includes: a transceiver module 8301. In some embodiments, the transceiver module is used to receive a first parameter set sent by a second network element or a fourth network element, wherein the first parameter set is used for application authentication and key management AKMA service, and the first parameter set includes at least updated first information. Optionally, the transceiver module is used to execute at least one of the communication steps such as sending and/or receiving (for example, step 2109, step 2210, but not limited thereto) performed by the second network element 102 in any of the above methods, which will not be repeated here.

As shown in FIG9a, the communication device 9100 includes one or more processors 9101. The processor 9101 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 9101 is used to call instructions so that the communication device 9100 executes any of the above methods.

In some embodiments, the communication device 9100 further includes one or more memories 9102 for storing instructions. Optionally, all or part of the memory 9102 may also be outside the communication device 9100.

In some embodiments, the communication device 9100 further includes one or more transceivers 9103. When the communication device 9100 includes one or more transceivers 9103, the communication steps such as sending and receiving in the above method are performed by the transceiver 9103, and the other steps are performed by the processor 9101.

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 9100 further includes one or more interface circuits 9104, which are connected to the memory 9102. The interface circuit 9104 can be used to receive signals from the memory 9102 or other devices, and can be used to send signals to the memory 9102 or other devices. For example, the interface circuit 9104 can read instructions stored in the memory 9102 and send the instructions to the processor 9101.

The communication device 9100 described in the above embodiments may be a network device or a terminal, but the scope of the communication device 9100 described in the present disclosure is The scope is not limited to this, and the structure of the communication device 9100 may not be limited by Figure 9a. 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. 9b is a schematic diagram of the structure of a chip 9200 provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure. In the case where the communication device 9100 may be a chip or a chip system, reference may be made to the schematic diagram of the structure of the chip 9200 shown in Fig. 9b, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

The chip 9200 includes one or more processors 9201, and the processor 9201 is used to call instructions so that the chip 9200 executes any of the above methods.

In some embodiments, the chip 9200 further includes one or more interface circuits 9202, which are connected to the memory 9203. The interface circuit 9202 can be used to receive signals from the memory 9203 or other devices, and the interface circuit 9202 can be used to send signals to the memory 9203 or other devices. For example, the interface circuit 9202 can read instructions stored in the memory 9203 and send the instructions to the processor 9201. Optionally, the terms such as interface circuit, interface, transceiver pin, and transceiver can be replaced with each other.

In some embodiments, the chip 9200 further includes one or more memories 9203 for storing instructions. Optionally, all or part of the memory 9203 may be outside the chip 9200.

The present disclosure also proposes a storage medium, on which instructions are stored, and when the instructions are executed on the communication device 9100, the communication device 9100 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 9100, enables the communication device 9100 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.

In the above embodiments, it can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented by software, it can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer programs. When the computer program is loaded and executed on a computer, the process or function described in the embodiment of the present disclosure is generated in whole or in part. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer program can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer program can be transmitted from a website site, computer, server or data center by wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (digital subscriber line, DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) mode to another website site, computer, server or data center. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server or data center that includes one or more available media integrated. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (e.g., a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (e.g., a high-density digital video disc (DVD)), or a semiconductor medium (e.g., a solid state disk (SSD)), etc.

The corresponding relationships shown in the tables in the present disclosure can be configured or predefined. The values of the information in each table are only examples and can be configured as other values, which are not limited by the present disclosure. When configuring the corresponding relationship between the information and each parameter, it is not necessarily required to configure all the corresponding relationships illustrated in each table. For example, in the table in the present disclosure, the corresponding relationships shown in some rows may not be configured. For another example, appropriate deformation adjustments can be made based on the above table, such as splitting, merging, etc. The names of the parameters shown in the titles of the above tables can also use other names that can be understood by the communication device, and the values or representations of the parameters can also be other values or representations that can be understood by the communication device. When implementing the above tables, other data structures can also be used, such as arrays, queues, containers, stacks, linear lists, pointers, linked lists, trees, graphs, structures, classes, heaps, hash tables or hash tables.

The predefined in the present disclosure may be understood as defined, predefined, stored, pre-stored, pre-negotiated, pre-configured, solidified, or pre-burned.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the units and algorithm steps of each example described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are performed in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional and technical personnel can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered to be beyond the scope of this disclosure.

Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the systems, devices and units described above can refer to the corresponding processes in the aforementioned method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

The above is only a specific embodiment of the present disclosure, but the protection scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art who is familiar with the technical field can easily think of changes or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed in the present disclosure, which should be included in the protection scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the protection scope of the present disclosure should be based on the protection scope of the claims.

Claims (27)

A communication method, characterized in that the method is performed by a first network element, and the method comprises: sending a first parameter set to a second network element, The first parameter set is used for application authentication and key management AKMA service, and the first parameter set at least includes updated first information. The method according to claim 1, wherein sending the first parameter set to the second network element comprises: Under a first condition, the first parameter set is sent to a second network element, and the first condition is that the terminal receives the updated first information configured by the first network element. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the method further comprises: determining whether the first condition is met; Wherein, determining whether the first condition is met includes: Determining whether the second information sent by the terminal is consistent with the third information stored by the first network element; If the second information is consistent with the third information, it is determined that the first condition is met. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3 is characterized in that the first parameter set also includes fourth information, the first fourth information is used to identify information related to the subscriber, and the subscriber-related information includes at least one of fifth information, the first key, and the second key. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that sending the first parameter set to the second network element comprises: discovering the second network element based on the updated first information; Send the first parameter set to the second network element. A communication method, characterized in that the method is performed by a second network element, and the method comprises: receiving a first parameter set sent by a first network element, The first parameter set is used for application authentication and key management AKMA service, and the first parameter set at least includes updated first information. The method according to claim 6 is characterized in that the first parameter set also includes fourth information, the fourth information is used to identify information related to the subscriber, and the subscriber-related information includes at least one of the fifth information, the first key, and the second key. The method according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that the method further comprises: generating fifth information based on the updated first information and/or the fourth information, The fifth information is used to identify the second key. The method according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that the method further comprises: The second key is generated based on the fourth information and the first key stored in the second network element. The method according to any one of claims 6 to 9, characterized in that the method further comprises: Based on the updated first information, a third network element is discovered. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that the method further comprises: Send at least one of the following to the third network element: the fifth information, the second key, and the fourth information. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 9, characterized in that the method further comprises: Based on the updated first information, discovering a fourth network element, Send at least one of the following to the fourth network element: the fifth information, the second key, and the fourth information. The fourth network element is used to discover the third network element based on the updated first information. The method according to claim 12 is characterized in that the fourth network element is also used to send at least one of the following to the third network element: the fifth information, the second key, and the fourth information. The method according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that the method further comprises: Determine that the second network element stores unupdated first information; and replace the unupdated first information with the updated first information. The method according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that the method further comprises: determining that the second network element stores non-updated fifth information generated using non-updated first information; The fifth information is generated using the updated first information. The method according to claim 14 or 15, characterized in that the method further comprises: Send at least one of the following to the third network element or the fourth network element: the fifth information, the second key, and the fourth information. A communication method, characterized in that the method is performed by a third network element, and the method comprises: receiving at least one of the fourth information, the fifth information, and the second key sent by the second network element or the fourth network element, The fifth information is generated by updated first information included in a first parameter set, and the first parameter set is used for application authentication and key management AKMA service. The method according to claim 17 is characterized in that the first parameter set also includes the fourth information, the fourth information is used to identify information related to the subscriber, and the subscriber-related information includes at least one of the fifth information, the first key, and the second key. The method according to claim 17 or 18, characterized in that the fifth information is used to identify the second key. The method according to any one of claims 17 to 19 is characterized in that the third network element is discovered based on the updated first information. A communication device, characterized in that the device comprises a transceiver module, which is used for: sending a first parameter set to a second network element, The first parameter set is used for application authentication and key management AKMA service, and the first parameter set at least includes updated first information. A communication device, characterized in that the device comprises a transceiver module, which is used for: receiving a first parameter set sent by a first network element, The first parameter set is used for application authentication and key management AKMA service, and the first parameter set at least includes updated first information. A communication device, characterized in that the device comprises a transceiver module, which is used for: receiving a first parameter set sent by the second network element or the fourth network element, The first parameter set is used for application authentication and key management AKMA service, and the first parameter set at least includes updated first information. A communication device, comprising: a transceiver; a memory; a processor, connected to the transceiver and the memory respectively, configured to control the wireless signal reception and transmission of the transceiver by executing computer executable instructions on the memory, and capable of implementing any one of the methods of claims 1-21. A computer storage medium, wherein the computer storage medium stores computer executable instructions; after the computer executable instructions are executed by a processor, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 20 can be implemented. A communication system, characterized in that it includes: a first network element, a second network element, and a third network element, wherein the first network element is used to execute the method described in any one of claims 1 to 5, the second network element is used to execute the method described in any one of claims 6 to 16, and the third network element is used to execute the method described in any one of claims 17 to 20. The communication system according to claim 26 is characterized in that the communication system also includes a fourth network element.