CN108307457B - Message routing method and device - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention provides a message routing method and a message routing device, which are used for solving the problem that after an MM function and an SM function are separated, the MM function does not support the SM message routing to the correct SM function. The message routing method comprises the following steps: and receiving an SM message and routing information sent by the UE, and sending the SM message to an SM function according to the routing information. The scheme of the invention can enable the MM function to route the SM message to the correct SM function, thereby realizing the correct routing of the SM message.

Description

Message routing method and device

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of communications technologies, and in particular, to a method and an apparatus for message routing.

Background

Currently, in an Evolved Packet System (EPS), a Mobility Management Entity (MME) supports both a Mobility Management (MM) function such as attach, tracking area update, and the like and a Session Management (SM) function such as establishment, modification, and deletion of a public data network connection. MM messages and SM messages sent by user equipment UE are both terminated at MME and processed by MME.

In order to improve the degree of modularity of the network, referring to fig. 1, in the EPS system, an MM function (which may also be referred to as an MM functional entity) and an SM function (which may also be referred to as an MM functional entity) may be separated. In the network architecture shown in fig. 1, the UE is connected to the MM function through the radio access network RAN, and the MM function is connected to at least one SM function, and the MM function is responsible for receiving MM messages and SM messages, that is, both MM messages and SM messages sent by the UE will be terminated in the MM function.

Among them, the MM function may be a control plane function (responsible for handling control plane messages, such as MM messages, acquiring subscription information, etc.) and a message routing function (e.g., forwarding SM messages to the SM function, or routing slice selection information to the slice selection function). Further, the MM function may be an integral part of the generic control network function (control plane function that may be shared between different network instances/slices), at which point the generic control network function terminates the MM messages and SM messages, which send the MM messages directly to the MM function for processing, and forwards the SM messages to the SM function. In this scenario, the behaviors of the MM functions are all those of the generic control network function.

However, in the prior art, after separating the MM function and the SM function, the MM function does not support routing of SM messages to the correct SM function, especially when there are multiple SM functions serving the UE.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention aims to provide a message routing method and a message routing device, which are used for solving the problem that after an MM function and an SM function are separated, the MM function does not support the SM message routing to the correct SM function.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a message routing method, including:

receiving session management SM information and routing information sent by User Equipment (UE);

and sending the SM message to an SM function according to the routing information.

Preferably, the step of receiving the SM message and the routing information sent by the user equipment UE includes:

and receiving the SM message and the routing information sent by the UE through a wireless access network.

Preferably, the routing information is SM function selection information or SM function information.

Preferably, the routing information is SM function selection information, and the step of sending the SM message to the SM function according to the routing information includes:

selecting an SM function according to the SM function selection information;

and sending the SM message to the selected SM function.

Preferably, the routing information is information of an SM function, and the step of sending the SM message to the SM function according to the routing information includes:

determining an SM function corresponding to the information of the SM function;

and sending the SM message to the determined SM function.

Preferably, the information of the SM function is generated by the SM function in a PDU session setup procedure and provided to the UE.

Preferably, the SM function selection information is an access point name, service information, a usage type, or a dedicated core network identifier.

Preferably, the information of the SM function is an identifier of the SM function, an identifier of a slice or a network instance in which the SM function is located, an IP address, or an interface layer identifier.

The invention also provides a message routing method, which comprises the following steps:

the SM message and routing information is sent to the MM function.

Preferably, the step of sending the SM message and the routing information to the MM function includes:

sending the SM message and routing information to the MM function through a radio access network.

Preferably, the routing information is SM function selection information or SM function information.

The invention also provides a message routing method, which comprises the following steps:

receiving SM information and UE identification sent by an SM function;

and sending the SM message to the UE according to the identity of the UE.

Preferably, the step of sending the SM message to the UE according to the identity of the UE includes:

searching a wireless access network providing service for the UE according to the identifier of the UE;

transmitting the SM message to the UE through the radio access network.

The invention also provides a message routing method, which comprises the following steps:

the SM message and the identity of the UE are sent to the MM function.

The present invention further provides a message routing apparatus, including:

the first receiving module is used for receiving session management SM messages and routing information sent by User Equipment (UE);

and the first sending module is used for sending the SM message to an SM function according to the routing information.

Preferably, the first receiving module is specifically configured to:

and receiving the SM message and the routing information sent by the UE through a wireless access network.

Preferably, the routing information is SM function selection information or SM function information.

Preferably, the routing information is SM function selection information, and the first sending module includes:

a selecting unit, configured to select an SM function according to the SM function selection information;

a first sending unit, configured to send the SM message to the selected SM function.

Preferably, the routing information is information of an SM function, and the first sending module includes:

a determining unit configured to determine an SM function corresponding to the information of the SM function;

a second sending unit, configured to send the SM message to the determined SM function.

Preferably, the information of the SM function is generated by the SM function in a PDU session setup procedure and provided to the UE.

Preferably, the SM function selection information is an access point name, service information, a usage type, or a dedicated core network identifier.

Preferably, the information of the SM function is an identifier of the SM function, an identifier of a slice or a network instance in which the SM function is located, an IP address, or an interface layer identifier.

The present invention further provides a message routing apparatus, comprising:

and the second sending module is used for sending the SM message and the routing information to the MM function.

Preferably, the second sending module is specifically configured to:

sending the SM message and routing information to the MM function through a radio access network.

Preferably, the routing information is SM function selection information or SM function information.

The present invention further provides a message routing apparatus, including:

the second receiving module is used for receiving the SM message sent by the SM function and the identification of the UE;

and a third sending module, configured to send the SM message to the UE according to the identifier of the UE.

Preferably, the third sending module includes:

the searching unit is used for searching a wireless access network for providing service for the UE according to the identification of the UE;

a third sending unit, configured to send the SM message to the UE through the radio access network.

The present invention further provides a message routing apparatus, which includes:

and the fourth sending module is used for sending the SM message and the identity of the UE to the MM function.

Through the technical scheme, the invention has the beneficial effects that:

(1) by receiving the SM message and the routing information sent by the UE and sending the SM message to the SM function according to the routing information, the MM function can route the SM message to the correct SM function, so that the SM message can be correctly routed;

(2) by receiving the SM message and the UE identification sent by the SM function and sending the SM message to the UE according to the UE identification, the MM function can route the SM message to the correct UE, and the SM message can be correctly routed.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, the drawings required to be used in the embodiments of the present invention will be briefly described below, and it is obvious that the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present invention, and it is obvious for those skilled in the art to obtain other drawings based on these drawings without inventive labor.

Fig. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a network architecture with MM and SM functions separated.

Fig. 2 shows a flow chart of a method of message routing according to a first embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 3 shows a flow chart of a UE-initiated SM procedure in a first embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 4 is a flowchart showing an SM function in the first embodiment of the present invention to provide information of the SM function to a UE.

Fig. 5 shows a flow chart of a method of message routing according to a second embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 6 shows a flow chart of a message routing method according to a third embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 7 shows a flow chart of a message routing method according to a fourth embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of a message routing apparatus according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 9 is a second schematic structural diagram of a message routing apparatus according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 10 is a third schematic diagram of a message routing apparatus according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 11 is a fourth schematic diagram of a message routing apparatus according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 12 is a schematic diagram showing the MM function according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 13 is a schematic structural diagram of a user equipment according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention, and it is obvious that the described embodiments are some, not all, embodiments of the present invention. All other embodiments, which can be derived by a person skilled in the art from the embodiments given herein without making any creative effort, shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

First embodiment

Referring to fig. 2, a first embodiment of the present invention provides a message routing method, which is applied to an MM function (also referred to as MM function entity), and includessteps 101 to 102, which are described in detail below.

Step 101: and receiving the SM message and the routing information sent by the UE.

In the embodiment of the invention, the MM function can receive the SM message and the routing information sent by the UE through a Radio Access Network (RAN) when receiving the SM message and the routing information sent by the UE. Specifically, the UE first sends the SM message and the routing information to the RAN, and then the RAN sends the SM message and the routing information to the MM function. And when the MM function is part of the generic control network function, the RAN sends SM messages and routing information to the generic control network function.

The routing information instep 101 may be SM function selection information or SM function information, which is described in detail below with reference to fig. 3.

Referring to fig. 3, a flowchart of a process for initiating SM for a UE includes the following steps:

step 11: UE decides to initiate SM process; the UE may determine to establish a new Packet Data Unit (PDU) session for transmitting data of the upper layer application under the trigger of the upper layer application, or modify an existing PDU session for transmitting data of the upper layer application;

step 12: UE judges whether the initiated SM process is to establish a new PDU session; the UE may determine according to an event triggering the SM process, for example, the UE opens a new application, and the existing PDU session cannot transmit data of the new application;

step 13: if the SM process is to establish a new PDU session, the UE determines that the routing information is SM function selection information;

step 14: if the SM process is not establishing a new PDU session (for example, the SM process is modifying the PDU session or deleting the PDU session), the UE determines that the routing information is the information of the SM function;

step 15: the UE sends the SM message and the routing information to the RAN.

It should be noted that the SM function selection information may be an access point APN name, service information (for example, an application ID, a service type, and the like), a usage type, or a dedicated core network identifier DCN ID, and the present invention is not limited thereto.

The SM function information may be an identifier of the SM function, an identifier of a slice or a network instance where the SM function is located, an IP address, an interface layer identifier (e.g., an instance number), or other information that can uniquely identify the SM function, which is not limited in the present invention.

In the embodiment of the invention, the information of the SM function is generated and provided to the UE by the SM function in the PDU session establishment process.

Next, a procedure in which the SM function provides the UE with information of the SM function is described with reference to fig. 4. The process comprises the following steps:

step 21: when the UE determines to establish a PDU session, the UE sends a radio resource Control (RRC for short) message to the RAN, where the RRC message includes a first SM message (i.e., a PDU session establishment request message) and routing information; the routing information is SM function selection information in the scene;

step 22: the RAN sends NG2 interface messages to the MM function, wherein the NG2 interface messages comprise first SM messages and SM function selection information;

step 23: the MM function selects an SM function according to the SM function selection information, and then sends a request message to the SM function, wherein the request message comprises a first SM message;

step 24: the SM function processes the first SM message and generates a corresponding reply message (marked as a second SM message); since the first SM message is a PDU session setup request message, the SM function returns a reply message to the MM function, where the reply message includes information of the SM function (e.g., an identification or an IP address of the SM function) in addition to the second SM message; in addition, the reply message may also include the identity of the UE;

step 25: after receiving the reply message, the MM function sends an NG2 interface message to the RAN, wherein the NG2 interface message comprises a second SM message and the information of the SM function;

step 26: the RAN sends an RRC message to the UE, the RRC message including the second SM message and the SM function information.

In the embodiment of the present invention, after receiving the information of the SM function, the UE may locally (i.e. within the UE) store the mapping relationship between the newly established PDU session and the information of the SM function. In this way, when the UE initiates a procedure related to a certain PDU session, for example, a PDU session is modified or deleted, the UE may look up a mapping relationship between the locally stored PDU session and the SM functional information and directly send an RRC message including the SM functional information to the RAN.

Wherein, when the PDU session is established, the MM function needs to select the SM function, and after selecting the SM function, the MM function may store information of the SM function providing service for the UE in a context of the UE and record the number of PDU sessions related to the SM function. When deleting the PDU session, the UE or SM function may further include a hint information for deleting the PDU session in the information sent to the MM function, so that the MM function reduces the number of PDU sessions related to the SM function by 1.

Step 102: and sending the SM message to an SM function according to the routing information.

In the embodiment of the present invention, because the routing information is different, there are two implementation manners forstep 102, which are described in detail below.

The first method is as follows: routing information is SM function selection information

In the case of the first mode, after receiving the SM message and the SM function selection information transmitted by the UE, the MM function selects one SM function according to the SM function selection information, and transmits the SM message to the selected SM function.

The second method comprises the following steps: the routing information being SM function information

In the case of the second mode, after receiving the SM message and the SM function information transmitted from the UE, the MM function determines an SM function corresponding to the SM function information based on the SM function information, and transmits the SM message to the determined SM function.

When the routing information is the information of the SM function, after the RAN receives the SM message and the information of the SM function from the UE, if there is an interface between the RAN and the SM function, the RAN may also directly forward the SM message to the SM function according to the information of the SM function.

The message routing method according to the first embodiment of the present invention receives the SM message and the routing information sent by the UE, and sends the SM message to the SM function according to the routing information, so that the MM function can route the SM message to the correct SM function, thereby implementing correct routing of the SM message.

Second embodiment

Referring to fig. 5, a second embodiment of the present invention provides a message routing method applied to a UE, including step 201, which is described in detail below.

Step 201: and sending the SM message and the routing information to the MM function, so that the MM function can send the SM message to the SM function according to the routing information after receiving the SM message and the routing information.

Thus, the message routing method according to the second embodiment of the present invention enables the MM function to route the SM message to the correct SM function, thereby achieving correct routing of the SM message.

Specifically, the step 201 may include:

sending the SM message and routing information to the MM function through a radio access network.

Wherein, the routing information may be SM function selection information or SM function information.

Third embodiment

Referring to fig. 6, a third embodiment of the present invention provides a message routing method applied to an MM function, includingsteps 301 to 302, which are described in detail below.

Step 301: and receiving the SM message and the UE identification sent by the SM function.

In the embodiment of the present invention, when the SM function initiates a process related to a certain PDU session, for example, when the PDU session is modified or deleted, the SM function sends a request message to the MM function, where the request message includes an SM message and an identifier of a UE, and the identifier of the UE is, for example, an international mobile subscriber identity IMSI, an international mobile equipment identifier IMEI, or a globally unique temporary UE identifier GUTI. And the UE may send the UE identity to the SM function through a PDU session setup request message during the PDU session setup procedure.

Step 302: and sending the SM message to the UE according to the identity of the UE.

In the embodiment of the invention, the MM function sends the SM message to the UE according to the identity of the UE by adopting the following method:

the MM function first searches for a RAN serving the UE according to the identity of the UE, and then sends an SM message to the corresponding UE through the RAN.

The message routing method according to the third embodiment of the present invention receives the SM message and the UE identifier sent by the SM function, and sends the SM message to the UE according to the UE identifier, so that the MM function can route the SM message to the correct UE, thereby implementing correct routing of the SM message.

Fourth embodiment

Referring to fig. 7, a fourth embodiment of the present invention provides a message routing method, which is applied to an SM function (also referred to as an SM function entity), and includes a step 401, which is described in detail below.

Step 401: and sending the SM message and the identity of the UE to the MM function, so that the MM function can send the SM message to the UE according to the identity of the UE after receiving the SM message and the identity of the UE.

Thus, the message routing method according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention enables the MM function to route the SM message to the correct UE, thereby achieving correct routing of the SM message.

Fifth embodiment

Referring to fig. 8, a fifth embodiment of the present invention provides a message routing apparatus, applied to an MM function, capable of achieving the same effects as the message routing method described in the first embodiment, and the apparatus includes:

afirst receiving module 51, configured to receive a session management SM message and routing information sent by a user equipment UE;

afirst sending module 52, configured to send the SM message to an SM function according to the routing information.

In this embodiment of the present invention, thefirst receiving module 51 is specifically configured to:

and receiving the SM message and the routing information sent by the UE through a wireless access network.

Wherein, the routing information is SM function selection information or SM function information.

Specifically, when the routing information is SM function selection information, thefirst sending module 51 includes:

a selecting unit, configured to select an SM function according to the SM function selection information;

a first sending unit, configured to send the SM message to the selected SM function.

When the routing information is information of an SM function, thefirst sending module 51 includes:

a determining unit configured to determine an SM function corresponding to the information of the SM function;

a second sending unit, configured to send the SM message to the determined SM function.

Specifically, the information of the SM function is generated by the SM function in the PDU session establishment process and provided to the UE.

Specifically, the SM function selection information may be an access point name, service information, a usage type, or a dedicated core network identifier. The information of the SM function may be an identification of the SM function, an identification of a slice or network instance in which the SM function is located, an IP address, or an interface layer identifier.

Referring to fig. 9, a fifth embodiment of the present invention further provides a message routing apparatus, which is applied to a UE and is capable of achieving the same effects as the message routing method described in the second embodiment, where the message routing apparatus includes:

asecond sending module 53, configured to send the SM message and the routing information to the MM function.

In this embodiment of the present invention, thesecond sending module 53 is specifically configured to:

sending the SM message and routing information to the MM function through a radio access network.

Specifically, the routing information is SM function selection information or SM function information.

Referring to fig. 10, a fifth embodiment of the present invention further provides a message routing apparatus, which is applied to an MM function and can achieve the same effects as the message routing method described in the third embodiment, and the apparatus includes:

asecond receiving module 54, configured to receive an SM message sent by the SM function and an identifier of the UE;

athird sending module 55, configured to send the SM message to the UE according to the identifier of the UE.

Wherein thethird sending module 55 includes:

the searching unit is used for searching a wireless access network for providing service for the UE according to the identification of the UE;

a third sending unit, configured to send the SM message to the UE through the radio access network.

Referring to fig. 11, a fifth embodiment of the present invention further provides a message routing apparatus, which is applied to an SM function, and is capable of achieving the same effects as the message routing method described in the fourth embodiment, where the message routing apparatus includes:

afourth sending module 56, configured to send the SM message and the identity of the UE to the MM function.

Sixth embodiment

Referring to fig. 12, a sixth embodiment of the present invention provides a MM function (which may also be referred to as a MM functional entity) that includes afirst bus 61, afirst transceiver 62, anantenna 63, afirst bus interface 64, afirst processor 65, and afirst memory 66.

Thefirst processor 65 is configured to read the program in thefirst memory 66, and execute the following processes: and controlling thefirst transceiver 62 to receive the SM message and the routing information sent by the UE, and controlling thefirst transceiver 62 to send the SM message to the SM function according to the routing information.

Afirst transceiver 62 for receiving and transmitting data under the control of afirst processor 65.

In fig. 12, a bus architecture (represented by a first bus 61), thefirst bus 61 may include any number of interconnected buses and bridges, with thefirst bus 61 linking together various circuits including one or more processors represented by afirst processor 65 and a memory represented by afirst memory 66. Thefirst bus 61 may also link together various other circuits such as peripherals, voltage regulators, power management circuits, and the like, which are well known in the art, and therefore, will not be described any further herein. Afirst bus interface 64 provides an interface between thefirst bus 61 and thefirst transceiver 62. Thefirst transceiver 62 may be one element or may be multiple elements, such as multiple receivers and transmitters, providing a means for communicating with various other apparatus over a transmission medium. The data processed by thefirst processor 65 is transmitted over a wireless medium via theantenna 63, and further, theantenna 63 receives the data and transmits the data to thefirst processor 65.

Thefirst processor 65 is responsible for managing thefirst bus 61 and general processing and may also provide various functions including timing, peripheral interfaces, voltage regulation, power management, and other control functions. While thefirst memory 66 may be used to store data used by thefirst processor 65 in performing operations.

Alternatively, thefirst processor 64 may be a CPU, ASIC, FPGA, or CPLD.

Seventh embodiment

Referring to fig. 13, a seventh embodiment of the present invention is a user equipment UE, which includes asecond bus 71, asecond processor 72, asecond transceiver 73, asecond bus interface 74, asecond memory 75 and auser interface 76.

Thesecond processor 72 is configured to read the program in thesecond memory 75, and execute the following processes: controls thesecond transceiver 73 to send SM messages and routing information to the MM function.

Asecond transceiver 73 for receiving and transmitting data under the control of thesecond processor 72.

In fig. 13, a bus architecture (represented by a second bus 71), thesecond bus 71 may include any number of interconnected buses and bridges, thesecond bus 71 linking together various circuits including one or more processors, represented by a general purposesecond processor 72, and a second memory, represented by asecond memory 75. Thesecond bus 71 may also link together various other circuits such as peripherals, voltage regulators, power management circuits, and the like, which are well known in the art, and therefore, will not be described any further herein. Asecond bus interface 74 provides an interface between thesecond bus 71 and thesecond transceiver 73. Thesecond transceiver 73 may be one element or may be a plurality of elements, such as a plurality of receivers and transmitters, providing a means for communicating with various other apparatus over a transmission medium. For example: thesecond transceiver 73 receives external data from other devices. Thesecond transceiver 73 is used for transmitting the data processed by thesecond processor 72 to other devices. Depending on the nature of the computing system, auser interface 76, such as a keypad, display, speaker, microphone, joystick, may also be provided.

Thesecond processor 72 is responsible for managing thesecond bus 71 and the usual processes, running a general purpose operating system as described earlier. While thesecond memory 75 may be used to store data used by thesecond processor 72 in performing operations.

Alternatively, thesecond processor 72 may be a CPU, ASIC, FPGA or CPLD.

It should be noted that, in this document, the terms "comprises," "comprising," or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not include only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. Without further limitation, an element defined by the phrase "comprising an … …" does not exclude the presence of other like elements in a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises the element.

The above-mentioned serial numbers of the embodiments of the present invention are merely for description and do not represent the merits of the embodiments.

Through the above description of the embodiments, those skilled in the art will clearly understand that the method of the above embodiments can be implemented by software plus a necessary general hardware platform, and certainly can also be implemented by hardware, but in many cases, the former is a better implementation manner. Based on such understanding, the technical solutions of the present invention may be embodied in the form of a software product, which is stored in a storage medium (such as ROM/RAM, magnetic disk, optical disk) and includes instructions for enabling a terminal device (such as a mobile phone, a computer, a server, an air conditioner, or a network device) to execute the method according to the embodiments of the present invention.

The foregoing is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and it should be noted that, for those skilled in the art, various modifications and decorations can be made without departing from the principle of the present invention, and these modifications and decorations should also be regarded as the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims (8)

1. A method of message routing, comprising:

receiving session management SM information and routing information sent by User Equipment (UE);

sending the SM message to an SM function according to the routing information;

the routing information is SM function selection information, and the SM function selection information is an access point name, service information, a use type or a special core network identifier;

the step of sending the SM message to an SM function according to the routing information includes:

selecting an SM function according to the SM function selection information;

and sending the SM message to the selected SM function.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of receiving the SM message and the routing information sent by the user equipment UE comprises:

and receiving the SM message and the routing information sent by the UE through a wireless access network.

3. A method of message routing, comprising:

sending SM message and routing information to MM function;

the routing information is SM function selection information, and the SM function selection information is an access point name, service information, a use type or a special core network identifier; the SM function selection information is used for the MM function to select an SM function and send the SM message to the selected SM function.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the step of sending the SM message and the routing information to the MM function comprises:

sending the SM message and routing information to the MM function through a radio access network.

5. An apparatus for message routing, comprising:

the first receiving module is used for receiving session management SM messages and routing information sent by User Equipment (UE);

a first sending module, configured to send the SM message to an SM function according to the routing information;

the routing information is SM function selection information, and the SM function selection information is an access point name, service information, a use type or a special core network identifier;

the first transmitting module includes:

a selecting unit, configured to select an SM function according to the SM function selection information;

a first sending unit, configured to send the SM message to the selected SM function.

6. The apparatus of claim 5,

the first receiving module is specifically configured to:

and receiving the SM message and the routing information sent by the UE through a wireless access network.

7. An apparatus for message routing, comprising:

the second sending module is used for sending the SM message and the routing information to the MM function;

the routing information is SM function selection information, and the SM function selection information is an access point name, service information, a use type or a special core network identifier; the SM function selection information is used for the MM function to select an SM function and send the SM message to the selected SM function.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the second sending module is specifically configured to:

sending the SM message and routing information to the MM function through a radio access network.

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