IP Library › Granted Patent US 12,526,221
Granted Patent B2
US 12,526,221 · App. 18/054,645 · Granted Jan 13, 2026

Communication method, UP device, and CP device

Inventors: Chengguang Niu (Beijing, CN); Zhouyi Yu (Beijing, CN); Hongtao Guo (Beijing, CN)
Assignee: HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES CO., LTD.
H04L45/02H04L41/00H04L45/54H04L45/645H04L45/655H04W40/24
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,526,221
App. No.
18/054,645
Granted
Jan 13, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

This application provides a communication method, a UP device, and a CP device, and pertains to the field of communications technologies. In the method, the UP device reports interface information to the CP device by using PFCP. Specifically, the UP device carries the interface information in a PFCP message, and transmits the PFCP message to the CP device. The CP device can obtain the interface information of the UP device from the PFCP message, which ensures that the CP device can sense the interface information of the UP device.

Claims (40)

1 . A user plane (UP) device, comprising:

at least one processor; and

a non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing a program that is executable by the at least one processor, the program including instructions to cause the UP device to perform:

generating a first packet forwarding control protocol (PFCP) message based on an interface on the UP device, wherein the first PFCP message comprises information about the interface, the interface comprises a first interface accessed by a terminal on the UP device, and the information about the interface comprises an index identifying the interface; and

sending, by the UP device, the first PFCP message to a control plane (CP) device, wherein the UP device and the CP device are located in a network in which a CP and a UP are separated.

2 . The UP device according to claim 1 , wherein the first PFCP message comprises an interface index information element (IE), and the interface index IE comprises the index of the interface.

3 . The UP device according to claim 1 , wherein the information about the interface further comprises a type of the interface, wherein the type of the interface is a physical interface, a link aggregation bundled interface, a virtual Ethernet interface, or a tunnel interface, wherein the first PFCP message comprises an interface type information element (IE), and the interface type IE comprises information indicating the type of the interface.

4 . The UP device according to claim 1 , wherein the information about the interface further comprises a bandwidth of the interface, the first PFCP message comprises a bandwidth information element (IE), and the bandwidth IE comprises the bandwidth of the interface.

5 . The UP device according to claim 1 , wherein the information about the interface further comprises a slot number of a slot in which the interface is located, the first PFCP message comprises a slot information element (IE), and the slot IE comprises the slot number.

6 . The UP device according to claim 1 , wherein the information about the interface further comprises a card number of an interface card on which the interface is located, the first PFCP message comprises a card information element (IE), and the card IE comprises the card number.

7 . The UP device according to claim 1 , wherein the information about the interface further comprises a port number corresponding to the interface, the first PFCP message comprises a port information element (IE), and the port IE comprises the port number.

8 . The UP device according to claim 1 , wherein the information about the interface further comprises an index of a sub-interface of the interface, the first PFCP message comprises a sub-interface index information element (IE), and the sub-interface index IE comprises the index of the sub-interface.

9 . The UP device according to claim 1 , wherein the interface is a logical interface, the information about the interface further comprises an interface number of the logical interface, the first PFCP message comprises a logical interface index information element (IE), and the logical interface index IE comprises the interface number of the logical interface.

10 . The UP device according to claim 1 , wherein:

the network comprises a broadband network gateway (BNG), and the BNG comprises the CP device and the UP device; or

the network comprises a broadband remote access server (BRAS), and the BRAS comprises the CP device and the UP device.

11 . A control plane (CP) device, comprising:

at least one processor; and

a non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing a program that is executable by the at least one processor, the program including instructions to cause the CP device to perform:

receiving a first packet forwarding control protocol (PFCP) message from a user plane (UP) device, wherein the first PFCP message comprises information about an interface on the UP device, and the information about the interface comprises an index identifying the interface, the interface comprises a first interface accessed by a terminal on the UP device, and wherein the UP device and the CP device are located in a network in which a CP and a UP are separated; and

storing the information about the interface.

12 . The CP device according to claim 11 , wherein the program further includes instructions to cause the CP device to perform:

after storing the information about the interface, managing the terminal based on the information about the first interface.

13 . The CP device according to claim 11 , wherein the program further includes instructions to cause the CP device to perform:

after receiving the first PFCP message from the UP device, generating a second PFCP message, wherein the second PFCP message notifies the UP device that the CP device has received the first PFCP message; and

sending, by the CP device, the second PFCP message to the UP device.

14 . The CP device according to claim 11 , wherein the first PFCP message comprises an interface index information element (IE), and the interface index IE comprises the index of the interface.

15 . The CP device according to claim 11 , wherein the information about the interface further comprises a type of the interface, wherein the type of the interface is a physical interface, a link aggregation bundled interface, a virtual Ethernet interface, or a tunnel interface, wherein the first PFCP message comprises an interface type information element (IE), and the interface type IE comprises information indicating the type of the interface.

16 . The CP device according to claim 11 , wherein the information about the interface further comprises a bandwidth of the interface, the first PFCP message comprises a bandwidth information element (IE), and the bandwidth IE comprises the bandwidth of the interface.

17 . The CP device according to claim 11 , wherein the information about the interface further comprises a slot number of a slot in which the interface is located, the first PFCP message comprises a slot information element (IE), and the slot IE comprises the slot number.

18 . The CP device according to claim 11 , wherein the information about the interface further comprises a card number of an interface card on which the interface is located, the first PFCP message comprises a card information element (IE), and the card IE comprises the card number.

19 . The CP device according to claim 11 , wherein the information about the interface further comprises a port number corresponding to the interface, the first PFCP message comprises a port information element (IE), and the port IE comprises the port number.

20 . A network system in which a control plane (CP) and a user plane (UP) are separated, the network system comprises a CP device and a UP device,

wherein the UP device is configured to:

generate a first packet forwarding control protocol (PFCP) message based on an interface on the UP device, wherein the first PFCP message comprises information about the interface, the interface comprises a first interface accessed by a terminal on the UP device, and the information about the interface comprises an index identifying the interface; and

send the first PFCP message to the CP device;

wherein the CP device is configured to:

receive the first PFCP message from the UP device; and

store the information about the interface; and

wherein the network system comprises a broadband network gateway (BNG) or a broadband remote access server (BRAS).

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Feb 6, 2023
From: NIU, CHENGGUANG; YU, ZHOUYI; GUO, HONGTAO
To: HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES CO., LTD.
Reel/Frame 062596/0994 →
Priority Claims (2)
CN 202010400144.1 · May 12, 2020 · national
CN 202010614416.8 · Jun 30, 2020 · national
Continuity (2)
Continuation PCTCN2020136607 · Dec 15, 2020
Related Publication 20230122810A1 · Apr 20, 2023
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