Patent Description:
The mobile edge computing (MEC) technology shortens network latency caused by network transmission and multi-level service forwarding by means of sinking a service to the edge of a network, so as to meet the strict requirements of the 5th generation mobile networks (<NUM>) service on bandwidth and latency. At present, in the related art, the MEC technology has no relatively complete technical specification in a transport network, and especially in a fixed access network, such that for a <NUM> wireless wireline convergence (<NUM> WWC) scenario, the implementation of the MEC technology cannot be effectively supported in the related art.

The American patent applications published with patent numbers <CIT> and <CIT>; and the European patent application published with patent number <CIT> provide respective technical solutions; however, the above mentioned problem still remains unsolved.

An object of the present application is an edge application discovery method, which is applied to an EAC. The method includes: sending an application discovery request message to a core network, so that the core network matches a target edge application server (EAS) according to application content information carried in the application discovery request message, wherein the application content information at least includes network parameter information, and the network parameter information is used for instructing the EAC to match the information of the corresponding EAS; and receiving target EAS information replied by the core network, wherein the target EAS information is used for indicating the target EAS;
wherein sending the application discovery request message to the core network comprises:sending the application discovery request message to a gateway being a <NUM>-RG by means of a preset first interface, and triggering the application discovery request service to the core network by means of the <NUM>-RG, so as to send the application discovery request message to the core network; orsending the application discovery request message to a gateway being a FN-RG by means of a preset second interface, and triggering the application request service to a proxy by means of the FN-RG, so as to send the application discovery request message to the core network by means of the proxy.

According to another object of the present application, further provided is an edge application discovery apparatus, which is applied to an EAC. The apparatus includes: a first sending module, configured to send an application discovery request message to a core network, so that the core network matches a target edge application server (EAS) according to application content information carried in the application discovery request message, wherein the application content information at least includes network parameter information, and the network parameter information is used for instructing the EAC to match the information of the corresponding EAS; and a first receiving module, configured to receive target EAS information replied by the core network, wherein the target EAS information is used for indicating the target EAS; wherein the first sending module is further configured to:send the application discovery request message to a gateway being a <NUM>-RG by means of a preset first interface, and trigger the application discovery request service to the core network by means of the <NUM>-RG, so as to send the application discovery request message to the core network; orsend the application discovery request message to a gateway being a FN-RG by means of a preset second interface, and trigger the application request service to a proxy by means of the FN-RG, so as to send the application discovery request message to the core network by means of the proxy.

Preferred embodiments are covered by the appended dependent claims.

The embodiments of the present application will be described in detail hereinafter with reference to the drawings and in combination with embodiments.

It should be noted that, the terms "first", "second" and the like in the specification and claims of the present application and the drawings are used for distinguishing similar objects, and are not necessarily used for describing a specific order or sequence.

In order to further illustrate an edge application discovery method and apparatus, and an edge application service support method and apparatus in the embodiments of the present application, application scenarios of the edge application discovery method and apparatus, and the edge application service support method and apparatus in the embodiments of the present application are described below:
With the rapid development of the mobile Internet and the Internet of Things, the <NUM> service presents the characteristic of requirement diversity. The 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) defines relatively typical scenarios in <NUM> applications: enhanced mobile broadband, ultra-reliable and low latency communication (URLLC), massive machine type of communication (mMTC), vehicle to everything (V2X), and the like. On one hand, the above eMBB scenario provides large-traffic mobile broadband services, such as high-speed downloading, high-definition videos, and virtual reality (VR)/augmented reality (AR), the peak rates of the above services usually exceed <NUM> Gbps, and the requirement of the bandwidth is as high as dozens of Gbps, thereby causing huge pressures to wireless mid-haul and back-haul mobile networks. Therefore, the service requirements require that the services are sunk to the edges of the networks as much as possible, so as to realize the local shunting of the services. On the other hand, the URLLC scenario and the V2X scenario may provide ultra-high reliable and ultra-low latency communications, such as autonomous driving, industrial control and remote medical treatment, which require end-to-end high reliability of <NUM>% and end-to-end ultra-low latency less than <NUM>. Therefore, the service requirements also require that the services are sunk to the edges of the networks, so as to reduce network latency caused by network transmission and multi-level service forwarding.

With regard to the service requirements of the above <NUM> related service scenarios, the MEC technology is born at the right moment. The MEC, as a key technology of <NUM> evolution, provides a cloud computing capability and an IT service environment for an edge application on a mobile network edge, which is closer to a client, and has the characteristics of ultra-low latency, ultralarge bandwidth, localization, high real-time performance analysis processing, etc. For the MEC, the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) has standard specifications for the architecture of the MEC, and the 3GPP also has certain technical specifications for the MEC. However, no related standard research is made in a fixed network on how to apply an MEC system to the fixed network, especially how to apply to a <NUM> WWC fixed network-mobile network fusion scenario.

In order to implement the service support for the MEC in a <NUM> WWC scenario, the embodiments of the present application provide an edge application discovery method and apparatus, and an edge application service support method and apparatus. The edge application discovery method and apparatus, and the edge application service support method and apparatus in the embodiments of the present application will be described below:
In one aspect, the embodiments of the present application provide an edge application discovery method, which is applied to an edge application client (EAC).

<FIG> is a first flowchart of an edge application discovery method provided according to an embodiment of the present application, and as shown in <FIG>, the edge application discovery method in the embodiment of the present application includes:
S102, the EAC sends an application discovery request message to a core network, so that the core network matches a target edge application server (EAS) according to application content information carried in the application discovery request message, wherein the application content information at least includes network parameter information, and the network parameter information is used for instructing the EAC to match the information of the corresponding EAS.

In the embodiment of the present application, in a <NUM> WWC scenario, the core network may be a <NUM> core network (5GC). In the step S102, the network parameter information may include at least one of the following: a domain name (DN) of the target EAS, an edge data network (EDN) address of the target EAS, and a slice service request of the EAC, that is, network slice selection assistance information (NSSAI) of the EAC.

In an embodiment, in the step S102, sending the application discovery request message to the core network includes: sending the application discovery request message to a gateway, and triggering an application discovery request service by means of the gateway, so as to send the application discovery request message to the core network.

In the embodiment of the present application, the gateway may be a <NUM>-residential gateway (<NUM>-RG), and may also be a fixed network-residential gateway (FN-RG). The EAC may send the application discovery request message to the core network by means of the corresponding gateway.

It should be noted that, the processes of sending the application discovery request message to the core network by gateways corresponding to the <NUM>-RG and the FN-RG are different from each other. The processes of sending the application discovery request message to the core network by means of applications corresponding to the <NUM>-RG and the FN-RG will be described below in a plurality of embodiments:
In an embodiment, when the gateway is the <NUM>-RG, the step: sending the application discovery request message to the gateway, and triggering the application discovery request service by means of the gateway, so as to send the application discovery request message to the core network, includes: sending the application discovery request message to the <NUM>-RG by means of a preset first interface, and triggering the application discovery request service to the core network by means of the <NUM>-RG, so as to send the application discovery request message to the core network.

In the above embodiment, the <NUM>-RG needs to be registered to the core network in advance, that is, before the application discovery request message is sent to the <NUM>-RG by means of the preset first interface, the <NUM>-RG is registered to the core network.

On the premise of sending the application discovery request message by means of the <NUM>-RG, correspondingly, the step of receiving the target EAS information replied by the core network includes: receiving the target EAS information replied by the <NUM>-RG, wherein the target EAS information is sent by the core network to the <NUM>-RG.

In an embodiment, when the gateway is the FN-RG, the step: sending the application discovery request message to the gateway, and triggering the application discovery request service by means of the gateway, so as to send the application discovery request message to the core network, includes: sending the application discovery request message to the FN-RG by means of a preset second interface, and triggering the application request service to a proxy by means of the FN-RG, so as to send the application discovery request message to the core network by means of the proxy.

In the above embodiment, the second interface is used for indicating an interface different from the first interface. Since the FN-RG cannot directly support the implementation of the <NUM> service, the FN-RG needs to use an access gateway function (AGF) or a fixed mobile interworking function (FMIF) of a <NUM> WWC network as the proxy of the FN-RG, so as to support the <NUM> service.

In the above embodiment, the FN-RG also needs to be registered to the core network in advance, that is, before the application request service is triggered to the proxy by means of the FN-RG, the FN-RG is registered to the core network by means of the proxy.

On the premise of sending the application discovery request message by means of the FN-RG, correspondingly, the step of receiving the target EAS information replied by the core network includes: receiving the target EAS information replied by the FN-RG, wherein the target EAS information is sent by the core network to the FN-RG by means of the proxy.

S104, the EAC receives the target EAS information replied by the core network, wherein the target EAS information is used for indicating the target EAS.

In the embodiment of the present application, in the step S102, the target EAS information includes at least one of the following: an Internet Protocol (IP) address of the target EAS, domain name information of the target EAS, and identification information of the target EAS.

In an embodiment, in the step S104, the core network matching the target EAS according to the application content information carried in the application discovery request message includes: acquiring, by the core network, the network parameter information according to the application discovery request message, and initiating a matching request by means of a policy control function (PCF), so as to match the target EAS by means of a preset user equipment route selection policy (URSP).

By means of the embodiment of the present application, the application discovery request message may be sent to the core network by means of the EAC, so that the core network matches the target edge application server (EAS) according to the application content information carried in the application discovery request message, wherein the application content information at least includes the network parameter information, and the network parameter information is used for instructing the EAC to match the information of the corresponding EAS; and further, the target EAS information replied by the core network is received by means of the EAC, wherein the target EAS information is used for indicating the target EAS. Therefore, by means of the interaction between the EAC and the core network, for example, the 5GC, the discovery of the corresponding EAC by the core network can be realized, thereby realizing the discovery of an edge application in the <NUM> WWC scenario. Therefore, By means of the embodiment of the present application, the problem that the implementation of the MEC technology cannot be effectively supported in the related art can be solved, thereby achieving the effect of implementing edge computing processing in a <NUM> transmission network, and thus implementing the service support for the MEC in the <NUM> WWC scenario.

The edge application discovery method in the embodiment of the present application may be applied to various <NUM> WWC scenarios, for example, in a scenario corresponding to smart home, a home user may serve as the EAC to implement the discovery of the home user by the 5GC, and the support of a corresponding MEC service.

To further illustrate the discovery process of the edge application in the <NUM> WWC scenario in the embodiment of the present application, the foregoing edge application discovery method is further described below by way of exemplary embodiments:.

In the present exemplary embodiment, the gateway is the <NUM>-RG. In the present exemplary embodiment, the workflow of the edge application discovery method is shown as follows:.

It should be noted that, in the present exemplary embodiment, the application types corresponding to the EAC are diverse, and correspondingly, the application content required to be carried by different application type WiFi protocols is different from each other, therefore the B1 interface in the present exemplary embodiment needs to support different types of application content, thereby implementing edge application services in corresponding scenarios. In the embodiment of the present application, the application content that needs to be supported by the B1 interface is not limited, and the protocol of the B1 interface may be extended according to actual requirements, so as to increase the support of related scenarios, such as the edge application service of a smart home application.

In the present exemplary embodiment, the gateway is the FN-RG. In the present exemplary embodiment, the workflow of the edge application discovery method is shown as follows:
S301, the EAC sends an application discovery request, and carries application content to the FN-RG by means of a B2 interface.

It should be noted that, the technical requirements of the B2 interface in the above step are different from the technical requirements of the B1 interface in the exemplary embodiment <NUM>. Since the FN-RG cannot support the requirements of the <NUM> service, the FN-RG can only use an AGF or FMIF in a <NUM> WWC network as a proxy of the FN-RG for the requirements of the <NUM> service, so as to support the <NUM> service.

S302, after receiving the application discovery request sent by the EAC, the FN-RG sends the request to the AGF or the FMIF, wherein the premise of this step is that the FN-RG has been registered to the 5GC by means of the proxy AGF or FMIF.

S303, after receiving the application discovery request sent by the EAC, the 5GC acquires a DN corresponding to the EAC required by the 5GC, an EDN address, S-NSSAI, and some other related network parameter information for matching the EAS.

S304, the 5GC parses the acquired network parameter information that includes the DN corresponding to the target EAS, the EDN address and the S-NSSAI corresponding to the EAC, and initiates a request by means of a PCF, so that the PCF acquires the corresponding EAS information by means of a URSP, and replies, to the proxy AGF or FMIF of the FN-RG, an IP address of the EAS, domain name information of the target EAS, identification information of the target EAS, S-NSSAI information of the target EAS, edge location information related to the access of the EAS, and PDU session ID information used by user plane forwarding, etc..

S305, the proxy AGF or FMIF of the FN-RG replies the acquired related information of the EAS to the FN-RG, so that the FN-RG notifies the EAC.

In the present exemplary embodiment, the application types corresponding to the EAC are diverse, the application content required to be carried by WiFi protocols corresponding to different application types is different from each other, and a smart home edge application service may be implemented by means of the support of different types of application content by the B2 interface.

Similarly, in the present exemplary embodiment, the application types corresponding to the EAC are diverse, and correspondingly, the application content required to be carried by different application type WiFi protocols is different from each other, therefore the B2 interface in the present exemplary embodiment needs to support different types of application content, thereby implementing edge application services in corresponding scenarios. In the embodiment of the present application, the application content that needs to be supported by the B2 interface is not limited, and the protocol of the B2 interface may be extended according to actual requirements, so as to increase the support of related scenarios, such as the edge application service of a smart home application.

In the embodiment of the present application, on the basis of the discovery of the edge application in the <NUM> WWC scenario, the function of the gateway may also be extended, so as to enable the EAC to support different types of edge application service content by means of the function-extended gateway. The process of EAC for supporting different types of edge application service content by means of the function-extended gateway is described below:
In an embodiment, the edge application discovery method in the embodiment of the present application further includes:
sending, by the EAC, an application service request message to the gateway, and triggering an EAS access service mechanism by means of the gateway, so as to forward the application service request message to an EAS application function (AF) of the core network, and then requesting an EAS service from the core network, wherein the application service request message is used for indicating the EAS service, which is requested by the EAC from the core network; and receiving an application service request response message replied by the gateway, wherein the application service request response message is generated by the gateway according to an application service registration completion message sent by the core network, and the application service registration completion message is used for instructing the core network to complete the registration of the EAS service for the EAC.

In the above embodiment, the gateway may generally be a <NUM>-RG, which is capable of supporting the <NUM> service.

It should be noted that, the EAS AF is used for indicating an AF, which is applied to EAS service support.

In an embodiment, the application service request message carries application authentication information, wherein the application authentication information is used for instructing the EAS to perform access authentication on the EAC, and the application authentication information includes at least one of the following: domain name system (DNS) information of the application service, and identity document (ID) information of the EAC.

In an embodiment, the step of sending the application service request message to the gateway includes: sending the application service request message to the gateway by means of a third interface, wherein the third interface supports to carry content corresponding to a plurality of application services.

In an embodiment, before the step of sending the application service request message to the gateway, the method further includes:
sending, by the gateway, a registration authentication request to the core network, wherein the authentication registration request is used for instructing the gateway to perform registration authentication on the core network;.

In an embodiment, the registration authentication request is generated by subscription permanent identifier (SUPI) encapsulation or subscription concealed identifier (SUCI) encapsulation based on an LINE-ID format.

In an embodiment, the URSP policy is configured locally, or the URSP policy is configured during the process of the gateway sending the registration authentication request to the core network.

In an embodiment, the policy information is further used by the AMF to establish a policy-related link between the edge application service of the gateway and the PCF; and after the gateway establishes, according to the policy information, the PDU session between the gateway and the UPF indicated by the UPF information, the method further includes:.

By means of the above embodiments, an application service request mechanism between the EAC and the gateway may be implemented. To further illustrate the application service request mechanism between the EAC and the gateway, a description will be given below by way of an exemplary embodiment:.

<FIG> is a first schematic flowchart of an application service request mechanism between an EAC and a gateway provided according to an exemplary embodiment of the present application. As shown in <FIG>, in the present exemplary embodiment, the workflow of the application service request mechanism between the EAC and the gateway, such as the <NUM>-RG, is as follows:.

An interface of the EAC corresponding to the <NUM>-RG uses a WiFi protocol, and a message application layer, which corresponds to application client service request information sent by the EAC, is encapsulated with the DNS information of the application service, the ID information of the EAC, and the like, so as to be used for the access authentication of the EAC by the EAS.

Optionally, the above interface needs to support to carry different types of edge application service content.

Optionally, before the step S401 is executed, the <NUM>-RG needs to pass user access registration authentication, so as to acquire the information from the <NUM>-RG to the corresponding EAS by means of the 5GC, that is, implement the discovery of the EAS. <FIG> is a schematic flowchart of an EAS discovery mechanism provided according to an exemplary embodiment of the present application, and as shown in <FIG>, in the present exemplary embodiment, the workflow of the EAS discovery mechanism is shown as follows:.

It should be noted that, the above EAS discovery mechanism needs to be implemented on the basis of the URSP policy. The URSP policy may be configured locally by means of the <NUM>-RG, and may also be configured in a <NUM>-RG registration process.

During the execution process of the step S502, the policy information from the <NUM>-RG to the EAS is further used by the AMF to establish the policy-related link between the edge application service of the <NUM>-RG and the PCF; on the other hand, the configuration update mechanism of the gateway may also be executed by means of the PCF, and the URSP policy is provided for the gateway by means of the PCF, so as to instruct the gateway to register the association information and the user location information according to the URSP policy; on the other hand, the URSP route policy information requested by the EAS AF may also be provided by means of the PCF, and the edge application traffic is matched by means of the URSP route policy information; and on the other hand, the policy service may also be provided by means of the PCF, and the policy service is used for binding the UE to the AMF. The URSP policy information includes at least one of the following: DNN, and S-NSSAI. The edge application traffic is used for indicating the traffic in the direction from the EAC to the EAS.

In addition, an operator may also implement the above process by means of configuring a local policy to the UE.

By means of the process of the S502, the <NUM>-RG acquires the IP address, the UPF information and the like of the EAS.

S503, the EAC sends an edge application service registration request to the <NUM>-RG.

S504, after receiving the policy information corresponding to the corresponding EAS in the S502, the <NUM>-RG may establish the PDU session to the UPF, wherein the PDU session is used for carrying the traffic from the AC to the EAS, the traffic redirection and the like.

Optionally, the EAC may also send the application service request to the <NUM>-RG, and determine, by means of the communication with the 5GC, that the EAS AF completes the service access authentication of an AC user.

In an embodiment, the edge application discovery method in the embodiment of the present application further includes: sending an application service request message to the gateway, triggering the EAS access service mechanism by means of the gateway, so as to forward the application service request message to the EAS AF of the core network, and then requesting an EAS service from the core network, wherein the application service request message is used for indicating the EAS service, which is requested by the EAC from the core network; and receiving an application service request rejection message replied by the gateway, wherein the application service request rejection message is generated by the gateway according to an application service registration rejection message sent by the core network, and the application service registration rejection message is used for indicating that the core network does not discover the EAS service provided for the EAC.

By means of the above embodiment, in the application service request mechanism between the EAC and the gateway, processing in a scenario in which the core network does not discover the corresponding EAS service may be implemented. To further illustrate the application service request mechanism between the EAC and the gateway, a description will be given below by way of an exemplary embodiment:.

<FIG> is a second schematic flowchart of an application service request mechanism between an EAC and a gateway provided according to an exemplary embodiment of the present application. As shown in <FIG>, in the present exemplary embodiment, the workflow of the application service request mechanism between the EAC and the gateway, such as the <NUM>-RG, is as follows:.

In an embodiment, the edge application discovery method in the embodiment of the present application further includes: sending an application service release message to the gateway, triggering an EAS access service release mechanism by means of the gateway, so as to forward the application service release message to the EAS AF of the core network, and then requesting the core network to release an EAS service, wherein the application service release message is used for indicating the EAS service, which is requested by the EAC to be released from the core network; and receiving an application service release response message replied by the gateway, wherein the application service release response message is generated by the gateway according to an application service release completion message sent by the core network, and the application service release completion message is used for indicating that the core network has completed releasing the EAS service for the EAC.

In an embodiment, the step of sending the application service release message to the gateway further includes: sending the application service release message to the gateway, and sending, by the gateway, the application service release message to the EAS AF of the core network by means of an access gateway function (AGF), so as to instruct the EAS AF to initiate an application service release request to the core network according to the application service release message; and
if the core network determines that the EAS service monopolizes PDU resource information, initiating, by the core network, an application service resource release request, notifying the gateway by means of the AGF, and releasing a user plane resource to the gateway.

By means of the above embodiment, an application service release mechanism between the EAC and the gateway may be implemented. To further illustrate the application service release mechanism between the EAC and the gateway, a description will be given below by way of an exemplary embodiment:.

<FIG> is a schematic flowchart of an application service release mechanism between an EAC and a gateway provided according to an exemplary embodiment of the present application. As shown in <FIG>, in the present exemplary embodiment, the workflow of the application service release mechanism between the EAC and the gateway, such as the <NUM>-RG, is as follows:.

In the present exemplary embodiment, the release or revocation of the application service corresponding to the EAC may cause the release of a PDU resource. In this regard, after receiving the application service release information sent by the <NUM>-RG, the 5GC EAS AF may notify the PCF and the AMF, so as to trigger the AMF to send a PDU resource release request. <FIG> is a schematic flowchart of PDU resource release provided according to an exemplary embodiment of the present application. As shown in <FIG>, the workflow of the PDU resource release is as follows:
In the step S702, the EAS AF may also initiate the application service release request to the 5GC, the 5GC checks whether the EAS service corresponding to the EAC ID monopolizes the PDU resource information, if so, the 5GC initiates the application service resource release request to the AGF, and releases the user plane resource to the <NUM>-RG by means of the AGF, and the <NUM>-RG notifies the EAC.

In an embodiment, the edge application discovery method in the embodiment of the present application further includes: sending an application service update message to the gateway, triggering an EAS access service update mechanism by means of the gateway, so as to forward the application service update message to the EAS AF of the core network, and then requesting the core network to update an EAS service, wherein the application service update message is used for indicating the EAS service, which is requested by the EAC to be updated by the core network; and receiving an application service update response message replied by the gateway, wherein the application service update response message is generated by the gateway according to an application service update completion message sent by the core network, and the application service update completion message is used for indicating that the core network has updated the EAS service.

In an embodiment, the step: sending the application service update message to the gateway, triggering the EAS access service update mechanism by means of the gateway, so as to forward the application service update message to the EAS AF of the core network, and then requesting the core network to update the EAS service, further includes: sending the application service update message to the gateway, triggering the EAS access service update mechanism by means of the gateway, so as to forward the application service update message to the EAS AF of the core network, and then instructing the EAS AF to select an application service of an update EAS for the EAC according to the application service update message.

In an embodiment, the step of the EAS AF selecting the application service of the update EAS for the EAC according to the application service update message includes:.

By means of the above embodiments, an application service update mechanism between the EAC and the gateway may be implemented. To further illustrate the application service update mechanism between the EAC and the gateway, a description will be given below by way of an exemplary embodiment:.

<FIG> is a schematic flowchart of an application service update mechanism between an EAC and a gateway provided according to an exemplary embodiment of the present application. As shown in <FIG>, in the present exemplary embodiment, the workflow of the application service update mechanism between the EAC and the gateway, such as the <NUM>-RG, is as follows:.

Optionally, the EAC sends an application service update request, and triggers the RG to send the service update request to the EAS AF of the 5GC, and the EAS AF may select a new suitable EAS for satisfying the application service of the AC according to the updated service request. The process of selecting the new suitable EAS is described below:
The EAS AF requests the PCF of the 5GC, so as to request EAS information that meets the requirements of the application service of the updated AC, including EAS ID, EAS IP address, and the like, which brings about possible re-discovery of the EAS. For an EAS re-discovery mechanism, reference is made to an application service request response process.

Optionally, the EAS AF needs to record the correspondence between the EAC ID and the new EAS ID.

Optionally, the migration of the EAS brings a re-selection of the UPF.

Optionally, the <NUM>-RG needs to establish a PDU session from the <NUM>-RG to the re-selected UPF.

Optionally, the EAS AF replies application service update completion information to the EAC.

By means of the embodiment of the present application, on the basis of implementing the discovery of the edge application in the <NUM> WWC scenario, the communication requirements of the application service request between the EAC and the gateway, for example, the <NUM>-RG, and EAS formed during update and deletion, can be further implemented, thereby further supporting the implementation of the MEC service in the <NUM> WWC scenario.

In another aspect, the embodiments of the present application further provide an edge application service support method, which is applied to an EAC. <FIG> is a first flowchart of an edge application service support method provided according to an embodiment of the present application, and as shown in <FIG>, the edge application service support method in the embodiment of the present application includes:.

In an embodiment, before the step of sending the application service request message to the gateway, the method further includes:.

In another aspect, the embodiments of the present application further provide an edge application service support method, which is applied to an EAC. <FIG> is a second flowchart of an edge application service support method provided according to an embodiment of the present application, and as shown in <FIG>, the edge application service support method in the embodiment of the present application includes:.

In another aspect, the embodiments of the present application further provide an edge application service support method, which is applied to an EAC. <FIG> is a third flowchart of an edge application service support method provided according to an embodiment of the present application, and as shown in <FIG>, the edge application service support method in the embodiment of the present application includes:.

In an embodiment, the step of sending the application service release message to the gateway further includes: sending the application service release message to the gateway, and sending, by the gateway, the application service release message to the EAS AF of the core network by means of an access gateway function (AGF), so as to instruct the EAS AF to initiate an application service release request to the core network according to the application service release message; and if the core network determines that the EAS service monopolizes PDU resource information, initiating, by the core network, an application service resource release request, notifying the gateway by means of the AGF, and releasing a user plane resource to the gateway.

In another aspect, the embodiments of the present application further provide an edge application service support method, which is applied to an EAC. <FIG> is a fourth flowchart of an edge application service support method provided according to an embodiment of the present application, and as shown in <FIG>, the edge application service support method in the embodiment of the present application includes:.

In another aspect, the embodiments of the present application further provide an edge application discovery method, which is applied to a core network. <FIG> is a second flowchart of an edge application discovery method provided according to an embodiment of the present application, and as shown in <FIG>, the edge application discovery method in the embodiment of the present application includes:.

It should be noted that, the remaining embodiments and technical effects of the edge application discovery method applied to the core network correspond to those of the foregoing edge application discovery method applied to the EAC, and thus details are not described herein again.

In another aspect, the embodiments of the present application further provide an edge application service support method, which is applied to a gateway. <FIG> is a fifth flowchart of an edge application service support method provided according to an embodiment of the present application, and as shown in <FIG>, the edge application service support method in the embodiment of the present application includes:.

It should be noted that, the remaining embodiments and technical effects of the edge application service support method applied to the gateway correspond to those of the foregoing edge application service support method applied to the EAC, and thus details are not described herein again.

In another aspect, the embodiments of the present application further provide an edge application service support method, which is applied to a gateway. <FIG> is a sixth flowchart of an edge application service support method provided according to an embodiment of the present application, and as shown in <FIG>, the edge application service support method in the embodiment of the present application includes:.

In another aspect, the embodiments of the present application further provide an edge application service support method, which is applied to a gateway. <FIG> is a seventh flowchart of an edge application service support method provided according to an embodiment of the present application, and as shown in <FIG>, the edge application service support method in the embodiment of the present application includes:.

In another aspect, the embodiments of the present application further provide an edge application service support method, which is applied to a gateway. <FIG> is an eighth flowchart of an edge application service support method provided according to an embodiment of the present application, and as shown in <FIG>, the edge application service support method in the embodiment of the present application includes:.

By means of the descriptions of the above embodiments, those skilled in the art may clearly understand that, the method according to the above embodiments may be implemented by means of software plus a necessary universal hardware platform, and of course, may also be implemented by hardware, but the former is a better embodiment in many cases. Based on this understanding, the technical solutions of the present application essentially or the part contributing to the prior art may be embodied in the form of a software product, the computer software product is stored in a storage medium (such as an ROM/RAM, a magnetic disk and an optical disk), and include several instructions for instructing a computer device (which may be a mobile phone, a computer, a server, or a network device and the like) to execute the method in various embodiments of the present application.

In another aspect, the embodiments of the present application further provide an edge application discovery apparatus, which is applied to an EAC. The apparatus is used for implementing the above embodiments and preferred embodiments, and what has been described will not be repeated again. As used below, the term "module" may implement a combination of software and/or hardware of predetermined functions. Although the apparatus described in the following embodiments is preferably implemented in software, implementations of hardware, or a combination of software and hardware are also possible and conceivable.

<FIG> is a first structural block diagram of an edge application discovery apparatus provided according to an embodiment of the present application, and shown in <FIG>, the edge application discovery apparatus in the embodiment of the present application includes:.

Claim 1:
An edge application discovery method, applied to an edge application client, EAC, and comprising:
sending (S102) an application discovery request message to a core network, so that the core network matches a target edge application server, EAS, according to application content information carried in the application discovery request message, wherein the application content information at least comprises network parameter information, and the network parameter information is used for instructing the EAC to match the information of the corresponding EAS; and
receiving (S104) target EAS information replied by the core network, wherein the target EAS information is used for indicating the target EAS;
wherein sending the application discovery request message to the core network comprises:
sending the application discovery request message to a gateway being a <NUM>-RG by means of a preset first interface, and triggering the application discovery request service to the core network by means of the <NUM>-RG, so as to send the application discovery request message to the core network; or
sending the application discovery request message to a gateway being a FN-RG by means of a preset second interface, and triggering the application request service to a proxy by means of the FN-RG, so as to send the application discovery request message to the core network by means of the proxy.