Method for determining application server and apparatus

A method for determining a target application server, the method comprising:

• sending, by a first network element, a second request message to a data management network element, the second request message requesting service information related to a terminal, and the second request message comprising a terminal identifier of the terminal;
• receiving, by the first network element, a second response message from the data management network element, the second response message comprising a target service identifier;
• sending, by the first network element, a first request message to a second network element, the first request message comprising the target service identifier of the target service, the first request message requesting a characteristic parameter of a candidate application server capable of executing the target service;
• receiving, by the first network element, a first response message from the second network element, the first response message comprising the characteristic parameter of the candidate application server, the candidate application server being capable of executing the target service of the terminal;
• obtaining, by the first network element, a network status of a serving link, the serving link comprising a link from the terminal to a data network in which the candidate application server is located;
• and
• determining, by the first network element, based on the characteristic parameter and the network status of the serving link, the candidate application server comprises the target application server, the target application server being configured to execute the target service.