Network slicing PDU session quota management method and system

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a method and system for managing a PDU session number quota for a network slice, the method comprising: a high-level NF unit stores a maximum PDU session number quota supported by a network slice, and allocates the PDU session number quota of the network slice to multiple low-level NF units respectively; the low-level NF unit obtains the allocated PDU session number quota of the network slice from the high-level NF unit, stores the local quota as the PDU session number of the network slice, and notifies multiple local PCF units respectively; and when a user equipment UE requests to establish or release a PDU session in the network slice, the local PCF unit performs corresponding processing according to the local quota of the PDU session number notified by the low-level NF unit.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the field of communication technology. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to a network slice PDU session number quota management method and system. Background Art

[0002] With the evolution of communication technology, the fifth generation (5G) technology is becoming more and more popular as the latest generation of cellular mobile communication technology. In the 5G mobile communication architecture, the concept of network slicing (NS) is newly introduced as a key feature of the system to cope with the differences in network performance requirements of different communication services.

[0003] A network slice is a logical network that can provide specific network functions, meet specific services and different user needs, and includes a collection of network function modules and resources required to complete specific functions or services. More specifically, a network slice is a complete end-to-end network that includes terminals, access networks (AN), transport networks (TN), core networks (CN) and application servers, and can provide complete communication services. Of course, a network slice can also be a partial combination of terminals, AN, TN, CN and application servers.

[0004] In the prior art, there are many new problems that need to be solved in the application scenarios involving network slicing. There is currently no standard network solution worldwide for the management of the maximum PDU (Protocol Data Unit) session quota supported by network slicing, and the standardization work of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) is still in progress. For example, in the 3GPP R17 research report TR23.700-40, corresponding requirements have been clearly put forward for how to manage the maximum PDU session quota supported by network slicing. Therefore, how to specifically implement the relevant management of the maximum PDU session quota related to network slicing has become a new problem that needs to be solved urgently. Summary of the invention

[0005] Since there is currently a lack of network solutions for how to manage the maximum PDU session number quota supported by network slices, in view of this, the purpose of the present disclosure is to provide a network slice PDU session number quota management method and system, through a hierarchical NF (Network Function) deployment architecture, a slice quota management function is added to solve the management problem of the maximum PDU session number quota supported by network slices.

[0006] A brief overview of the disclosure is given below in order to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the disclosure. However, it should be understood that this overview is not an exhaustive overview of the disclosure. It is not intended to limit the key or important parts of the disclosure, nor is it intended to limit the scope of the disclosure. Its purpose is simply to give some concepts about the disclosure in a simplified form as a prelude to a more detailed description given later.

[0007] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a method for managing the number of PDU sessions in a network slice is provided. The method may include: a session number quota allocation step, in which a high-level NF unit stores the maximum number of PDU sessions quota supported by the network slice, and allocates the number of PDU sessions quota of the network slice to each of the multiple low-level NF units; a session number quota acquisition step, in which a low-level NF unit acquires the allocated number of PDU sessions quota of the network slice from the high-level NF unit, and stores the local quota of the number of PDU sessions as the number of PDU sessions of the network slice, and notifies each local PCF unit of the multiple local PCF (Policy Control Function) units of the local quota of the number of PDU sessions; and a session number management step, in which when a user equipment UE (User Equipment) requests to establish or release a PDU session in the network slice, the local PCF unit performs corresponding processing according to the local quota of the number of PDU sessions notified by the low-level NF unit.

[0008] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a network slice PDU session number quota management system is provided, which may include: a high-level NF unit, storing the maximum PDU session number quota supported by the network slice, and allocating the PDU session number quota of the network slice to each of the multiple low-level NF units; a low-level NF unit, obtaining the allocated PDU session number quota of the network slice from the high-level NF unit, storing the local quota of the PDU session number as the network slice, and notifying each local PCF unit of the multiple local PCF units of the local quota of the PDU session number; and a local PCF unit, when a user equipment UE requests to establish or release a PDU session in the network slice, performing corresponding processing according to the local quota of the PDU session number notified by the low-level NF unit.

[0009] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a computer-readable storage medium is provided. The computer-readable storage medium stores executable instructions, and when the executable instructions are executed by an information processing device, the information processing device executes the above-mentioned network slice PDU session number quota management method.

[0010] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, an electronic device is provided, comprising: a memory, and a processing circuit, wherein the processing circuit is configured to execute the above-mentioned network slice PDU session number quota management method.

[0011] According to the present disclosure, in the scenario of performing PDU session number quota management for network slicing, it is possible to obtain network slice PDU session number quota and perform network slice PDU session number quota restriction management based on the two-level NF deployment architecture of the existing network without large-scale changes to the existing network architecture and processing flow, by enhancing the functionality of the existing network, thereby conveniently and at low cost solving various management issues such as storage, acquisition, allocation, restriction, and update of network slice PDU session number quota. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] Figure 1 is an exemplary schematic diagram showing a network slice PDU session number quota management system 100 based on a two-level NF architecture according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0013] Figure 2 An exemplary flow chart of a network slice PDU session number quota management method 200 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0014] Figure 3 An exemplary flow chart showing detailed processing of the session number management step S230 of the network slice PDU session number quota management method 200 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0015] Figure 4 The specific implementation process of the network slice PDU session establishment process in the network slice PDU session number quota management method according to the embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0016] Figure 5 The specific implementation process of the network slice PDU session release process in the network slice PDU session number quota management method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0017] The preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that, unless otherwise specifically stated, the relative arrangement of the components and steps, the numerical expressions and the numerical values ​​described in these embodiments do not limit the scope of the present disclosure. At the same time, for ease of description, the sizes of the various parts shown in the accompanying drawings are not drawn according to the actual proportional relationship. The following description of at least one exemplary embodiment is actually only illustrative and is not intended to limit the present disclosure and its application or use.

[0018] The techniques, methods and devices known to those of ordinary skill in the relevant art may not be discussed in detail, but where appropriate, the techniques, methods and devices should be considered as part of the specification.The technology of the present disclosure can be applied to various products.

[0019] For ease of understanding and explanation, as a network slice PDU session quota management system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a communication system based on a two-level NF architecture is taken as an example to illustrate the network slice PDU session quota management method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, but this is not restrictive, and the network slice PDU session quota management method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure can also be performed in a communication system with more than two levels of NF architecture. The method can be executed by any two levels of NF units in the communication system with more than two levels of NF architecture. In the following, "network slice" is sometimes referred to as "slice".

[0020] In addition, for ease of explanation, the present disclosure mainly uses the 5G network architecture as an example, but the technology of the present disclosure can be applied to any general network architecture, such as any existing network architecture, or the network architecture of future communication systems.

[0021] For example, the high-level NF unit and the low-level NF unit included in the 5G mobile network architecture used as the application background in the present disclosure, as a high-level NF unit, may include, for example, a high-level NRF (NF Repository Function), and the low-level NF unit may include, for example, a low-level NRF. As a newly introduced function in the 5G architecture, NRF can be used to perform, for example, NF registration, management, and status detection to achieve automated management of all NFs; when each NF is started, it must register with the NRF to provide services, and the registration information includes, for example, NF type, address, service list, etc. Here, the example of the two-level NF architecture is merely illustrative and non-restrictive, and may be a similar or corresponding unit with a network storage function under any other network architecture.

[0022] Hereinafter, the overall structure of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described. Figure 1 An exemplary schematic diagram of a network slice PDU session quota management system 100 based on a two-level NF architecture according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. The network slice PDU session quota management system 100 mainly includes: a two-level NF architecture shown by a dotted box, including a high-level NF unit 110 and multiple low-level NF units 120 (shown as 120-1, 120-2, ..., 120-n respectively); and multiple local PCF units 130 (shown as 130-1, ..., 130-n respectively) under the low-level NF unit 120. Here, for the sake of simplicity, multiple user equipment UEs that interact with each local PCF unit 130 via, for example, SMF (Session Management Function) are omitted from the illustration.

[0023] like Figure 1 According to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the network slice PDU session number quota management system 100 may include: a high-level NF unit 110, storing the maximum PDU session number quota supported by the network slice, and allocating the PDU session number quota of the network slice to each lower-level NF unit (120-1, 120-2, ..., 120-n) of multiple lower-level NF units 120; the lower-level NF unit 120 obtains the allocated PDU session number quota of the network slice from the high-level NF unit 110, and stores the local quota of the PDU session number as the network slice, and notifies each local PCF unit (130-1, ..., 130-n) of the local quota of the PDU session number to multiple local PCF units 130; and the local PCF unit 130, when the user equipment UE requests to establish or release a PDU session in the network slice, performs corresponding processing according to the local quota of the PDU session number notified by the lower-level NF unit 120.

[0024] The network slice PDU session number quota management system 100 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure is proposed to meet the needs of the maximum PDU session number quota management related to the existing network slices, wherein based on, for example, the existing two-level NF (such as NRF, etc.) deployment architecture of the network, by enhancing the existing NF units (110, 120) and PCF units 130, a new slice quota management function is added. Specifically, the high-level NF unit 110 stores and controls the total PDU session number quota signed for the slice, and uniformly allocates the PDU session number quota to each low-level NF unit 120, for example, on demand. In addition, a portion can be reserved as a dynamically allocated quota; each low-level NF unit 120 stores and notifies the local PCF 130 of the local quota of the PDU session number signed for the slice; when the user equipment UE establishes or releases a PDU session in the slice, the local PCF unit 130 performs corresponding processing according to the notified local quota of the PDU session number. More specifically, when the user equipment UE establishes a new PDU session in a slice, the local PCF unit 130 determines whether to allow or reject the establishment of the PDU session based on the local slice quota; when the number of established slice PDU sessions reaches the local quota, the local PCF unit can report to the NF unit (110, 120) and request a new quota, or refuse to establish a new PDU session; when the user equipment UE initiates a PDU session release request in a slice, the local PCF130 will update the number of PDUs for the slice accordingly.

[0025] According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, the high-level NF unit may be, for example, a backbone NRF unit under a 5G communication architecture, and the low-level NF unit may be, for example, a provincial NRF unit under a 5G communication architecture. And there is an existing interface between each NRF unit and the PCF unit. Therefore, without large-scale transformation, it is possible to solve the storage, acquisition, allocation, restriction, update and other management issues of the network slice PDU session quota based on the existing two-level NF deployment architecture. When deploying, for example, 5G network slices, 5G network slice resources can be effectively and flexibly managed.

[0026] According to the network slice PDU session quota management system 100 of the embodiment of the present disclosure, it is at least applicable to all scenarios of 5G network slice data services. In addition, due to the hierarchical NF architecture based on the operator's existing network, no hardware changes are required; it can be achieved only through software upgrades, that is, adding slice quota management functions to NF units and PCF units, with minimal equipment modification, and can be implemented conveniently and at low cost.

[0027] Next, the network slice PDU session number quota management method according to the embodiment of the present disclosure is explained. Figure 22 is an exemplary flow chart showing a network slice PDU session quota management method 200 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Preferably, this embodiment can be implemented in the network slice PDU session quota management system 100 of the present disclosure. The method may include the following steps:

[0028] Session number quota allocation step S210: The high-level NF unit 110 stores the maximum PDU session number quota supported by the network slice, and allocates the PDU session number quota of the network slice to each lower-level NF unit (120-1, 120-2, ..., 120-n) of the plurality of lower-level NF units 120;

[0029] Session number quota acquisition step S220: the lower layer NF unit 120 acquires the PDU session number quota of the allocated network slice from the higher layer NF unit 110, stores the local quota of the PDU session number as the network slice, and notifies each local PCF unit (130-1, ..., 130-n) of the local quota of the PDU session number of the multiple local PCF units 130; and

[0030] Session number management step S230: When the user equipment UE requests to establish or release a PDU session in the network slice, the local PCF unit 130 performs corresponding processing according to the local quota of the number of PDU sessions notified by the lower-layer NF unit 120.

[0031] In this way, various management such as storage, acquisition, allocation, restriction and update of network slice PDU session quota can be performed conveniently and at low cost.

[0032] Among them, preferably, in the session number quota allocation step S210, the high-level NF unit 110 can reserve part of the PDU session number quota in the maximum PDU session number quota of the network slice as the PDU session number quota for dynamic allocation.

[0033] The following further describes the detailed processing of the session number management step S230. Figure 3 An exemplary flowchart of the detailed processing of the session number management step S230 of the network slice PDU session number quota management method 200 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Figure 3 (A) shows the session number management process in the slice PDU session establishment process. Figure 3 (B) in the figure shows the session number management process in the slice PDU session release process.

[0034] like Figure 3As shown in (A), preferably, when the user equipment UE requests to establish a new PDU session in the network slice, the local PCF unit 130 performs corresponding processing according to whether the number of established PDU sessions of the network slice reaches the local quota of the number of PDU sessions.

[0035] More specifically, in step S301, when the user equipment UE initiates a slice PDU session establishment request, the processing enters step S302, and the local PCF unit determines whether the total number of established slice PDU sessions has reached the local quota.

[0036] Preferably, when the local PCF unit 130 determines that the number of established PDU sessions has not reached the local quota of the number of PDU sessions, it allows the user equipment UE to establish a new PDU session in the network slice and updates the number of existing PDU sessions in the network slice.

[0037] More specifically, when the result of the judgment in step S302 is no, the process proceeds to step S303, and the local PCF unit 130 increases the number of PDU sessions of the slice by 1, and allows the user equipment UE to establish a new PDU session in the slice.

[0038] Preferably, when the local PCF unit 130 determines that the number of established PDU sessions has reached the local quota of the PDU session number, it reports to the high-level NF unit 130 via the low-level NF unit 120 and inquires whether there is a reserved PDU session number quota to request a local quota for the newly added PDU session number; more preferably, when the high-level NF unit does not have a reserved PDU session number quota, the local PCF unit refuses the user equipment UE to establish a new PDU session in the network slice; when the high-level NF unit has a reserved PDU session number quota, the high-level NF unit dynamically allocates a part of the reserved PDU session number quota to the network slice of the requesting low-level NF unit, notifies the local PCF unit of the newly added PDU session number quota via the low-level NF unit, and the local PCF unit updates the local quota of the PDU session number of the network slice, allowing the user equipment UE to establish a new PDU session in the network slice and update the existing PDU session number of the network slice.

[0039] More specifically, when the judgment result in step S302 is yes, the processing enters step S304, and the local PCF unit 130 reports to the high-level NF unit 110 via the low-level NF unit 120 to inquire whether there is a reserved PDU session number quota; when the judgment result in step S304 is no, the processing enters step S305, notifies the user equipment UE that there is no reserved quota, and the local PCF unit rejects the PDU session establishment request of the user equipment UE; when the judgment result in step S304 is yes, the processing enters step S306, notifies the local PCF unit 130 of the newly added PDU session number quota through the low-level NF unit 120, and performs processing similar to that in step S303 to allow new PDU sessions and update the number of PDU sessions.

[0040] On the other hand, Figure 3 As shown in (B), preferably, when the user equipment UE requests to release an existing PDU session in the network slice, the local PCF unit 130 updates the number of existing PDU sessions of the network slice. More specifically, when the user equipment UE initiates a PDU session release request for the slice in step S307, the process proceeds to step S308, and the local PCF unit 130 reduces the number of PDU sessions of the slice by 1.

[0041] In this way, various management steps such as storage, acquisition, allocation, restriction and update of network slice PDU session quota are realized.

[0042] Next, as a specific implementation process, Figure 4 and Figure 5 An exemplary schematic diagram of the specific implementation process of the network slice PDU session quota management method in the communication architecture according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown, wherein Figure 4 The specific implementation process of the network slice PDU session establishment process is shown. Figure 5 The specific implementation process of the network slice PDU session release process is shown. As mentioned above, as a prerequisite, the high-level NF unit 110 allocates the slice PDU session quota to each low-level NF unit 120, and the low-level NF unit 120 notifies the corresponding local PCF unit 130. When the user equipment UE requests to establish a new PDU session, the local PCF unit 130 verifies the slice PDU session quota. If the local PCF unit 130 determines that it is necessary or the PDU session quota is insufficient, it can report and apply for a new PDU session quota.

[0043] First, Figure 4 As shown, the specific implementation process of the slice PDU session establishment process may include, for example:

[0044] Step S401: The user equipment UE initiates a PDU session establishment processing request to the session management function unit SMF by using, for example, a parameter S-NSSAI (Single Network Slice Selection Assistance Information);

[0045] Step S402: SMF sends a session management policy association establishment request (SM Policy Association Establishment Request) to the local PCF unit 130;

[0046] Step S403: The local PCF unit 130 checks the slice PDU session number quota, that is, calculates whether the number of existing PDU sessions has reached the slice local quota;

[0047] Step S404: When necessary or when the PDU session quota is insufficient, the local PCF unit 130 sends a slice PDU session quota request to the lower layer NF unit 120, and the message includes parameters such as S-NSSAI and the requested quota number;

[0048] Step S405: The lower layer NF unit 120 further sends a slice PDU session quota request to the higher layer NF unit 110;

[0049] Step S406: In the case of a reserved quota, the high-level NF unit 110 returns a slice PDU session quota response to the low-level NF unit 120 for the slice PDU session quota request, and the message includes parameters such as S-NSSAI and the number of authorized quotas;

[0050] Step S407: The lower layer NF unit 120 further returns the slice PDU session quota response to the local PCF unit 130;

[0051] Step S408: The local PCF unit 130 updates the existing PDU session number (increase by 1) and the slice local quota according to the received slice PDU session number quota response;

[0052] Step S409: the local PCF unit 130 returns a session management policy association establishment request response (SMPolicy Association Establishment Request Response) to the SMF;

[0053] Step S410a: The SMF allows the user equipment UE to establish a PDU session (PDU Session Establishment Accept) according to the received session management policy association establishment request response; or

[0054] Step S410b: When the PDU session number quota is insufficient, the SMF rejects the user equipment UE from establishing a PDU session (PDU Session Establishment Reject) according to the received session management policy association establishment request response.

[0055] Among them, the network slice PDU session quota management method according to the embodiment of the present disclosure is mainly reflected in the above steps S403 to S408. Among them, the processing of requesting additional quotas in the dashed box, that is, steps S404 to S407, as a way and means of implementation, if under the 5G architecture, the existing service-oriented interface process can be used, such as the signaling exchanged between PCF and NRF, in which corresponding parameters such as slice identifier S-NSSAI, the number of requested / authorized quotas, etc. can be added; or if under other communication architectures, the newly added service-oriented message of slice quota request / response can be used.

[0056] On the other hand, Figure 5 As shown in FIG. 1 , the specific implementation process of the slice PDU session release process includes:

[0057] Step S501: The user equipment UE initiates a PDU session release request (PDUSession Release Request) to the SMF using, for example, a parameter S-NSSAI;

[0058] Step S502: The SMF sends a session management policy association termination request (SM Policy Association Termination Request) to the local PCF unit 130;

[0059] Step S503: the local PCF unit 130 updates the number of existing PDU sessions (minus 1) according to the received session management policy association termination request;

[0060] Step S504: the local PCF unit 130 sends a session management policy association termination response (SM Policy Association Termination Response) to the SMF;

[0061] Step S505: The SMF sends a PDU session release acknowledgment (PDU Session Release Ack) to the user equipment UE according to the received session management policy association termination response.

[0062] Among them, the network slice PDU session quota management method according to the embodiment of the present disclosure is mainly reflected in the above step S503. That is, when the user equipment UE initiates PDU session release in the slice, the local PCF unit 130 will reduce the corresponding slice PDU session number by 1.

[0063] As described above, according to the network slice PDU session number quota management method and system of the implementation mode of the present disclosure, it is possible to simply and effectively solve the problem of network slice PDU session number quota management. In the prior art, the maximum number of PDU sessions supported is generally for a certain network system dimension or a certain network device dimension, while the present disclosure is aimed at the dimension of network slices. According to the implementation mode of the present disclosure, the management of the network slice PDU session number quota is realized by using the existing hierarchical NF deployment architecture of the existing network, which effectively solves the specific problems of network slice quota management; when 5G network slices are deployed in the future, 5G network slice resources can be effectively and flexibly managed.

[0064] Furthermore, in existing or future similar network architectures, as long as a layered NF deployment architecture can be adopted, the network slice PDU session number quota management method and system according to the implementation of the present disclosure can be applied.

[0065] In some embodiments, the network element units such as the high-level NF unit 110, the low-level NF unit 120 and the local PCF unit 130 may include a memory and a processing circuit (not shown). The processing circuit of each network element unit may provide various functions it possesses.

[0066] In some embodiments, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, which stores executable instructions. When the executable instructions are executed by an information processing device, the information processing device executes the network slice PDU session number quota management method according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, namely, the session number quota allocation step S210, the session number quota acquisition step S220 and the session number management step S230, etc.

[0067] In some embodiments, an electronic device is provided, which includes: a memory, and a processing circuit, wherein the processing circuit is configured to execute the network slice PDU session number quota management method of an embodiment of the present disclosure, namely, the session number quota allocation step S210, the session number quota acquisition step S220 and the session number management step S230, etc.

[0068] Here, processing circuitry may refer to various implementations of digital circuitry, analog circuitry, or mixed signal (combination of analog and digital) circuitry that perform functions in a computing system. Processing circuitry may include, for example, circuits such as integrated circuits (ICs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), parts or circuits of separate processor cores, entire processor cores, separate processors, programmable hardware devices such as field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), and / or systems including multiple processors. Memory may store information generated by processing circuitry and programs and data for operation of electronic devices. Memory may be volatile memory and / or non-volatile memory. For example, memory may include, but is not limited to, random access memory (RAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), static random access memory (SRAM), read-only memory (ROM), and flash memory.

[0069] It should be understood that the above steps, units, etc. are only logical modules divided according to the specific functions they implement, and are not used to limit the specific implementation method. In actual implementation, the above units can be implemented as independent physical entities, or can also be implemented by a single entity (such as a processor (CPU or DSP, etc.), an integrated circuit, etc.).

[0070] It should be understood that references to "an embodiment" or similar expressions in this specification refer to specific features, structures, or characteristics described in conjunction with the embodiment being included in at least one specific embodiment of the present disclosure. Therefore, the appearance of "in an embodiment of the present disclosure" and similar expressions in this specification does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment.

[0071] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present disclosure is implemented as a system, apparatus, method, or computer-readable medium (e.g., non-transient storage medium) as a computer program product. Therefore, the present disclosure may be implemented in various forms, such as a complete hardware embodiment, a complete software embodiment (including firmware, resident software, microprogram code, etc.), or may also be implemented as a software and hardware implementation, which will be referred to as a "circuit," "module," or "system" below. In addition, the present disclosure may also be implemented as a computer program product in any tangible media form, which has a computer-usable program code stored thereon.

[0072] The relevant description of the present disclosure is described with reference to the flowchart and / or block diagram of the system, device, method and computer program product according to the specific embodiment of the present disclosure. It can be understood that each block in each flowchart and / or block diagram, and any combination of blocks in the flowchart and / or block diagram, can be implemented using computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be executed by a machine composed of a processor of a general-purpose computer or a special computer or other programmable data processing device, and the instructions are processed by a computer or other programmable data processing device to implement the functions or operations described in the flowchart and / or block diagram.

[0073] The accompanying drawings show the flow charts and block diagrams of the architecture, functions and operations that can be implemented by the systems, devices, methods and computer program products according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. Therefore, each block in the flow chart or block diagram can represent a module, segment, or part of the program code, which includes one or more executable instructions to implement the specified logical function. It should also be noted that in some other embodiments, the functions described in the blocks may not be performed in the order shown in the figure. For example, two blocks connected to each other in the figure can actually be executed simultaneously, or in some cases according to the functions involved, they can also be executed in the opposite order of the icons. It should also be noted that each block diagram and / or flow chart block, as well as the combination of blocks in the block diagram and / or flow chart, can be implemented by a system based on special hardware, or by a combination of special hardware and computer instructions to perform specific functions or operations.

[0074] The embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above, and the above description is exemplary, not exhaustive, and is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the described embodiments. The selection of terms used herein is intended to best explain the principles of the embodiments, practical applications, or technical improvements to market technologies, or to enable other persons of ordinary skill in the art to understand the embodiments disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A network slice PDU session quota management method, comprising: In the session quota allocation step, the high-level NF unit stores the maximum PDU session quota supported by the network slice, and allocates the PDU session quota of the network slice to each of the multiple low-level NF units, wherein the high-level NF unit is a high-level NRF and the low-level NF unit is a low-level NRF; In a session number quota acquisition step, the lower-layer NF unit acquires the PDU session number quota of the allocated network slice from the higher-layer NF unit, stores the local quota of the PDU session number as the network slice, and notifies each local PCF unit of the multiple local PCF units of the local quota of the PDU session number through the signaling exchanged between the lower-layer NRF and the local PCF unit; as well as In a session number management step, when a user equipment UE requests to establish or release a PDU session in the network slice, each local PCF unit of the multiple local PCF units performs corresponding processing according to the local quota of the number of PDU sessions notified by the lower layer NF unit; Wherein, in the session number management step, the high-level NF unit reserves part of the PDU session number quota in the maximum PDU session number quota of the network slice as the PDU session number quota for dynamic allocation; When the user equipment UE requests to establish a new PDU session in the network slice, the local PCF unit performs corresponding processing according to whether the number of established PDU sessions of the network slice reaches the local quota of the number of PDU sessions; When the local PCF unit determines that the number of established PDU sessions has reached the local quota of the PDU session number, it reports to the high-level NF unit via the low-level NF unit and queries whether there is a reserved PDU session number quota to request a new local quota for the PDU session number.

2. The network slice PDU session number quota management method according to claim 1, wherein: In the session number management step, when the local PCF unit determines that the number of established PDU sessions has not reached the local quota of the PDU session number, it allows the user equipment UE to establish a new PDU session in the network slice and updates the existing PDU session number of the network slice.

3. The network slice PDU session number quota management method according to claim 1, wherein: In the session number management step, when the high-level NF unit does not have a reserved PDU session number quota, the local PCF unit refuses the user equipment UE to establish a new PDU session in the network slice.

4. The network slice PDU session number quota management method according to claim 1, wherein: In the session number management step, when the high-level NF unit has a reserved PDU session number quota, the high-level NF unit dynamically allocates a part of the reserved PDU session number quota to the network slice of the requesting low-level NF unit, notifies the local PCF unit of the newly added PDU session number quota via the low-level NF unit, and the local PCF unit updates the local quota of the PDU session number of the network slice, allowing the user equipment UE to establish a new PDU session in the network slice and update the existing PDU session number of the network slice.

5. The network slice PDU session quota management method according to claim 1, wherein: In the session number management step, when the user equipment UE requests to release an existing PDU session in the network slice, the local PCF unit updates the existing PDU session number of the network slice.

6. The network slice PDU session number quota management method according to claim 1, wherein: The high-level NF unit is a backbone NRF unit under the 5G communication architecture, and the low-level NF unit is a provincial NRF unit under the 5G communication architecture.

7. A network slice PDU session quota management system, comprising: A high-level NF unit stores a maximum PDU session quota supported by a network slice, and allocates a PDU session quota of the network slice to each of a plurality of low-level NF units, wherein the high-level NF unit is a high-level NRF, and the low-level NF unit is a low-level NRF; The lower-layer NF unit obtains the PDU session number quota of the allocated network slice from the higher-layer NF unit, stores the local quota of the PDU session number as the network slice, and notifies each local PCF unit of the multiple local PCF units of the local quota of the PDU session number through the signaling exchanged between the lower-layer NRF and the local PCF unit; as well as A plurality of local PCF units, when a user equipment UE requests to establish or release a PDU session in the network slice, each local PCF unit of the plurality of local PCF units performs corresponding processing according to the local quota of the number of PDU sessions notified by the lower layer NF unit; The high-level NF unit reserves part of the PDU session number quota in the maximum PDU session number quota of the network slice as the PDU session number quota for dynamic allocation; When the user equipment UE requests to establish a new PDU session in the network slice, each of the multiple local PCF units performs corresponding processing according to whether the number of established PDU sessions of the network slice reaches the local quota of the number of PDU sessions; When a local PCF unit among multiple local PCF units determines that the number of established PDU sessions has reached the local quota of the PDU session number, it reports to the high-level NF unit via the low-level NF unit and inquires whether there is a reserved PDU session number quota to request to increase the local quota of the PDU session number.

8. The network slice PDU session number quota management system according to claim 7, wherein: The high-level NF unit is a backbone NRF unit under the 5G communication architecture, and the low-level NF unit is a provincial NRF unit under the 5G communication architecture.

9. A computer-readable storage medium storing executable instructions. When the executable instructions are executed by an information processing device, the information processing device executes the network slice PDU session number quota management method according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

10. An electronic device comprising: Memory, and A processing circuit, wherein the processing circuit is configured to execute the network slice PDU session number quota management method according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

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