The present disclosure relates to a user data processing apparatus and method, and a system. In the user data processing apparatus disclosure, an interface management unit receives user data; at least two service units process the user data, where the at least two service units include a session unit and at least one of a bearer unit, a service flow unit, or a content unit; the interface management unit determines the session unit configured to process the user data, and sends the received user data to the determined session unit; and the session unit determines another service unit configured to process the user data. After receiving the user data, the GW-U determines the service unit configured to process the user data, and processes the user data by using the service unit determined by the GW-U. This improves processing flexibility of the GW-U.

A communication method and a communication apparatus that can be used for application instance switching in a multi-access edge computing (MEC) scenario. The method includes: an MEC network element obtains information about a source application instance of an application accessed by a terminal device and information about a target application instance of the application. The MEC network element sends a first message to a first MEC platform, where the first message is used to request to migrate a user context of the application from the source application instance to the target application instance, the source application instance is deployed on the first MEC platform, and the target application instance is deployed on a second MEC platform. The MEC network element receives a second message from the first MEC platform, where the second message indicates a migration state of the user context of the application.

A method of data communication includes receiving, by a first wireless access gateway (WAG), at least a first data packet corresponding to a first data flow transmitted from user equipment (UE) and receiving, by a second WAG, at least a second data packet transmitted from the UE. In response to receiving the second data packet, the second WAG determines an identity of the first WAG, and in response to determining the identity of the first WAG, the method includes establishing a tunnel connection between the first WAG and the second WAG. After establishing the tunnel connection, the method includes receiving by the second WAG at least a third data packet corresponding to the first data flow transmitted from the UE, and the second WAG transmits to the first WAG, via the tunnel connection, the third data packet.

Disclosed is a session management method based on protocol data unit (PDU) session anchor (PSA) relocation, and an device performing the session management method. The session management method may include determining to perform PSA relocation, establishing a new PSA device through the PSA relocation, and releasing an existing PSA device, in which the PSA relocation may allow traffic moving towards the existing PSA device to move to the new PSA device.

A method is disclosed for providing IP access across packet data network gateways (PGWs), comprising: receiving, from a UE, at a coordinating node, an attach request; sending a request to create a first new session to a first PGW; sending a request to create a second new session to a second PGW; receiving, from the first PGW and at the coordinating node, a first request for policies for the UE; receiving, from the second PGW and at the coordinating node, a second request for policies for the UE; opening a first data tunnel from the coordinating node to the first PGW; opening a second data tunnel from the coordinating node to the second PGW without closing the first data tunnel; and opening a data tunnel between the UE and the coordinating node for providing IP access to both the first PGW and the second PGW.

Method for unified networking for a device in heterogeneous mobile environments includes maintaining and monitoring active network interfaces, managing the location of the device, managing network access security, enabling disruption tolerance support for applications, enabling service sharing and session mobility, managing system parameters for one or more active application sessions, managing storage functionality in one or more memory devices, and maintaining a mapping for one or more flows corresponding to the one or more active application sessions, maintaining one or more policies, and performing flow control decisions based upon the policies using a policy engine. The method can also include monitoring for network events, evaluating whether to perform a handover based upon policies, and providing seamless secure handovers in a heterogeneous mobile environment. A device, non-transitory computer-readable medium, and a system for unified networking are also provided.

Disclosed in the present disclosure is a method for realizing wireless network convergence. The method comprises: constructing a convergence link table in an AP of a wireless network cell; arranging a user management system in an external network; when cross-cell movement of a user station occurs, the user management system configuring convergence link tables in corresponding access points (APs) of two cells; and based on the configured convergence link tables, data transmitted by the user station in an original cell being transmitted in a new cell, thereby realizing wireless network convergence.

An apparatus of a base station (BS) of a radio access network (RAN) comprises memory and processing circuitry. The processing circuitry includes a central unit (CU) portion and a distributed unit (DU) portion that implement a BS multi-layer protocol stack divided between the CU portion and the DU portion. The processing circuitry initiates a handover to change a serving cell of user equipment (UE). The handover includes a change in a portion of logical layers of the BS multi-layer protocol stack, and the processing circuitry encodes an information element for transmission to the UE indicating logical layers of a UE multi-layer protocol stack implemented in the UE to be reset by the UE in association with the handover.

Systems, methods, apparatuses, and computer program products for interworking between bearer-less networks and bearer based networks are provided. One method includes receiving, by a network entity in a bearer-less network, a context request to obtain user equipment context information for a user equipment moving from the bearer-less network to a bearer-based network. The method may further include providing a context response comprising the context information to a network entity in the bearer-based network, the context information used to establish bearers for the user equipment to obtain internet protocol (IP) based services.

The present disclosure relates to a communication method and system for converging a 5th-Generation (5G) communication system for supporting higher data rates beyond a 4th-Generation (4G) system with a technology for Internet of Things (IoT). The present disclosure may be applied to intelligent services based on the 5G communication technology and the IoT-related technology, such as smart home, smart building, smart city, smart car, connected car, health care, digital education, smart retail, security and safety services. The present disclosure further relates to a method by a session management function (SMF) in a network including a session that is established via a first user plane function (UPF). The method includes determining whether to change the first UPF to a second UPF, and transmitting, to a terminal via an access and mobility function (AMF), a first message including a maintain time of the session established via the first UPF, when the first UPF needs to be changed.