Discovery request processing method, apparatus and system

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a discovery request processing method, device and system, and relates to the technical field of communication. The processing method comprises the following steps: receiving a discovery request sent by a visited consumer network element of a user roaming to a visited place; sending the discovery request to a home NRF network element of the user according to identity information of the user in the discovery request; judging whether the registration number range is correct according to whether the registration number range capable of providing services returned by the home NRF network element matches the pre-stored configuration number range of the home place; and returning response information of the discovery request to the visited consumer network element according to the judgment result.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a method, apparatus and system for processing discovery requests. Background Technology

[0002] The basic internal processes of a 5G SA (Standalone) core network are divided into registration process, discovery process, and service request process.

[0003] During the registration process, the core network producer network element registers with the NRF (Network Repository Function) network element, and at the same time provides the NRF network element with key information such as the network element's service address information and the user SUPI (SUbscription Permanent Identifier) ​​number range that can provide services.

[0004] In related technologies, the SUPI number range of users who can provide services is manually configured as the registration number range. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The inventors of this disclosure have discovered the following problems in the aforementioned related technologies: errors in the registration number range are prone to occur in the early stages of network construction, causing users to be unable to use the SA network and resulting in a decline in communication performance.

[0006] In view of this, this disclosure proposes a technical solution for processing discovery requests, which can detect whether the number segment is correct, so as to ensure the user's use of the SA network and thus improve communication performance.

[0007] According to some embodiments of this disclosure, a method for processing a discovery request is provided, comprising: receiving a discovery request sent by a user roaming to a visited location through a visited location consumer network element; sending the discovery request to the user's home NRF network element according to the user's identity information in the discovery request; determining whether the registered number range is correct based on whether the range of registered number segments that can provide services returned by the home NRF network element matches the pre-stored configured number range of the home location; and returning response information of the discovery request to the visited location consumer network element according to the determination result.

[0008] In some embodiments, determining whether the registered number range is correct based on whether the range of registered number ranges that can provide services returned by the home NRF network element matches the pre-stored configured number range of the home includes: if the configured number range includes the registered number range, the registered number range is correct; if the configured number range does not include the registered number range, the registered number range is incorrect.

[0009] In some embodiments, determining whether a registered number range is correct based on whether the range of registered number segments that can provide services returned by the home NRF network element matches the pre-stored configured number range of the home includes: determining whether the minimum value of the registered number range is greater than or equal to the minimum value of the configured number range and less than the maximum value of the configured number range; determining that the registered number range is incorrect if the minimum value of the registered number range is less than the minimum value of the configured number range or greater than the maximum value of the configured number range; and determining whether the registered number range is correct based on the maximum value of the registered number range and the maximum value of the configured number range if the minimum value of the registered number range is greater than or equal to the minimum value of the configured number range and less than the maximum value of the configured number range.

[0010] In some embodiments, determining whether the registered number range is correct based on the maximum value of the registered number range and the maximum value of the configured number range includes: determining that the registered number range is incorrect if the maximum value of the registered number range is greater than the maximum value of the configured number range; and determining that the registered number range is correct if the maximum value of the registered number range is less than or equal to the maximum value of the configured number range.

[0011] In some embodiments, receiving a discovery request sent by a user roaming to a visited location through a visited location consumer network element includes: if the visited location NRF network element determines that the user is a roaming user based on the user's identity identifier, receiving a discovery request forwarded by the visited location NRF network element from the user sent through the visited location consumer network element.

[0012] In some embodiments, the processing method further includes: when the home NRF network element determines that the user is a home user based on the user's identity information, receiving the range of registration number segments that can provide services returned by the home NRF network element.

[0013] In some embodiments, the response information for the discovery request returned to the visited consumer network element based on the judgment result includes: if the registration number range is determined to be incorrect, sending a failure response to the visited consumer network element so that the visited consumer network element does not cache the registration number range; if the registration number range is determined to be correct, sending the registration information of the home producer network element returned by the home NRF network element to the visited consumer network element so that the visited consumer network element processes the discovery request based on the registration information.

[0014] In some embodiments, the identity information is SUPI, and both the registration number range and the configuration number range are SUPI ranges.

[0015] According to some other embodiments of this disclosure, a method for processing a discovery request is provided, comprising: a visited consumer network element sending a discovery request for a user roaming to the visited location to a backbone network NRF element through the visited NRF element; the backbone network NRF element sending the discovery request to the user's home NRF element based on the user's identity information in the discovery request; the home NRF element returning a range of registered number segments for which the home producer network element can provide services to the backbone network NRF element; the backbone network NRF element determining whether the registered number segment range is correct based on whether it matches a pre-stored configured number segment range for the home location; and the backbone network NRF element returning response information for the discovery request to the visited consumer network element based on the determination result.

[0016] According to some embodiments of this disclosure, a discovery request processing apparatus is provided, comprising: a receiving unit, configured to receive a discovery request sent by a user roaming to a visited location through a visited location consumer network element; a sending unit, configured to send the discovery request to the user's home NRF network element according to the user's identity information in the discovery request, and return response information of the discovery request to the visited location consumer network element according to the judgment result of the judgment unit; and a judgment unit, configured to determine whether the registered number segment range is correct based on whether the range of registered number segments that can provide services returned by the home NRF network element matches the pre-stored configured number segment range of the home location.

[0017] According to further embodiments of this disclosure, a discovery request processing system is provided, comprising: a backbone NRF network element including a discovery request processing device for executing the processing method in any of the above embodiments; a visited consumer network element for forwarding the discovery request; and a home NRF network element for returning to the backbone NRF network element the registration number range for which the home producer network element can provide services.

[0018] According to further embodiments of the present disclosure, a discovery request processing apparatus is provided, comprising: a memory; and a processor coupled to the memory, the processor being configured to execute the discovery request processing method of any of the above embodiments based on instructions stored in the memory device.

[0019] According to further embodiments of the present disclosure, a non-volatile computer-readable storage medium is provided having a computer program stored thereon that, when executed by a processor, implements the discovery request processing method of any of the above embodiments.

[0020] In the above embodiments, the backbone network NRF network element reversely detects whether the registration number range returned by the home NRF network element is correct, so as to ensure the user's use of the SA network and thus improve communication performance. Attached Figure Description

[0021] The accompanying drawings, which form part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of this disclosure and, together with the specification, serve to explain the principles of this disclosure.

[0022] This disclosure will become clearer with reference to the accompanying drawings and the following detailed description:

[0023] Figure 1 Flowcharts illustrating some embodiments of the method for processing discovery requests in this disclosure;

[0024] Figure 2 Show Figure 1 Flowcharts of some embodiments of step 130;

[0025] Figure 3 Schematic diagrams illustrating some embodiments of the discovery request processing method of this disclosure;

[0026] Figure 4 Block diagrams illustrating some embodiments of the discovery request processing apparatus of this disclosure;

[0027] Figure 5 Block diagrams illustrating further embodiments of the discovery request processing apparatus of this disclosure;

[0028] Figure 6 Block diagrams illustrating further embodiments of the discovery request processing apparatus of this disclosure;

[0029] Figure 7 Block diagrams illustrating some embodiments of the discovery request processing system of this disclosure are shown. Detailed Implementation

[0030] Various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that, unless otherwise specifically stated, the relative arrangement, numerical expressions, and values ​​of the components and steps set forth in these embodiments do not limit the scope of the present disclosure.

[0031] At the same time, it should be understood that, for ease of description, the dimensions of the various parts shown in the accompanying drawings are not drawn according to actual scale.

[0032] The following description of at least one exemplary embodiment is merely illustrative and is in no way intended to limit this disclosure or its application or use.

[0033] Techniques, methods, and equipment known to a person skilled in the art may not be discussed in detail, but where appropriate, such techniques, methods, and equipment should be considered part of the license specification.

[0034] In all examples shown and discussed herein, any specific values ​​should be interpreted as merely exemplary and not as limitations. Therefore, other examples of exemplary embodiments may have different values.

[0035] It should be noted that similar labels and letters in the following figures indicate similar items; therefore, once an item is defined in one figure, it does not need to be discussed further in subsequent figures.

[0036] As mentioned earlier, manually configuring the registration number range during the initial network setup phase can easily lead to configuration errors. For example, the registration number range might be configured to be the SUPI number range for local users outside the home region, or even a nationwide range.

[0037] In the event of a misconfiguration, during a roaming scenario, when the consumer network element in the visited location discovers the producer network element in location A, it receives registration information containing number ranges from both location A and location B due to the misconfiguration in location A. This results in a user in location B roaming to the visited location and, when accessing the network from the visited location, sending a service request to location A, but location A does not have the registration data for the user in location B, ultimately preventing the user in location B from using the SA network.

[0038] To address the aforementioned technical issues, this disclosure proposes a reverse detection technology for SUPI-based registered number segments on backbone NRF network elements. This allows for the detection of serviceable user SUPI number segments returned by the NRF network elements during the discovery process. This avoids situations where incorrect number segment configuration in one area prevents users in other areas from using the SA network, thus improving the accuracy of dynamic network element discovery.

[0039] For example, the technical solution of this disclosure can be implemented through the following embodiments.

[0040] Figure 1 Flowcharts illustrating some embodiments of the discovery request processing method of this disclosure are shown.

[0041] like Figure 1 As shown, in step 110, a discovery request sent by a user roaming to the visited location through the visited location's consumer network element is received. For example, the identity information can be a unique identifier for a terminal such as SUPI.

[0042] For example, consumer network elements may include AMF (Access and Mobility Management Function) network elements, SMF (Session Management Function) network elements, etc.

[0043] In some embodiments, when the visited NRF network element determines that the user is a roaming user based on the user's identity, it receives a discovery request forwarded by the visited NRF network element from the user through the visited consumer network element.

[0044] In step 120, the discovery request is sent to the user's home NRF network element based on the user's identity information in the discovery request.

[0045] In some embodiments, in 5G SA roaming scenarios, when a user accesses the 5GC (core network) of the visited location (e.g., the visited province), the visited consumer network element discovers the registration information of the home target producer network element through the visited NRF network element, the backbone network NRF network element, and the home location (e.g., the home province) NRF network element based on the user's SUPI number.

[0046] For example, producer network elements include UDM (Unified Data Management) network elements and PCF (Policy Control Function) network elements.

[0047] For example, NRF network elements are locally configured with corresponding number ranges for various regions, and can forward discovery requests to the NRF network element in the user's home region based on the user's SUPI number.

[0048] In step 130, the correctness of the registered number range is determined by whether the range of registered number segments that can provide services, returned by the home NRF network element, matches the pre-stored configured number range of the home location. For example, both the registered number range and the configured number range are number ranges that are unique identifiers for terminals such as SUPI.

[0049] In some embodiments, when the home NRF network element determines that the user is a home user based on the user's identity information, it receives the range of registration number segments that can provide services returned by the home NRF network element.

[0050] In some embodiments, if the configured number range includes the registered number range, the registered number range is determined to be correct; if the configured number range does not include the registered number range, the registered number range is determined to be incorrect. For example, this can be achieved through... Figure 2 The embodiments described herein implement the technical solutions of this disclosure.

[0051] Figure 2 Show Figure 1 A flowchart of some embodiments of step 130.

[0052] like Figure 2 As shown, in step 1310, the range of registration number segments that can provide services is received from the home NRF network element.

[0053] In some embodiments, the home NRF element returns registration information, including the range of user SUPI number segments that can provide services, to the backbone NRF element via the same path.

[0054] After receiving the registration information returned by the home network NRF element, the backbone network NRF element extracts the minimum value of the range of user SUPI number segments that can provide services—the registration number segment. min Maximum value - Registration number range max .

[0055] In step 1320, it is determined whether the minimum value of the registered number segment range is greater than or equal to the minimum value of the configured number segment range, and less than the maximum value of the configured number segment range.

[0056] If the minimum value of the registered number range is greater than or equal to the minimum value of the configured number range, but less than the maximum value of the configured number range, proceed to step 1330; if the minimum value of the registered number range is less than the minimum value of the configured number range, or greater than the maximum value of the configured number range, proceed to step 1340.

[0057] In some embodiments, by using the registration number range min The system matches the pre-stored configuration number ranges of the backbone NRF network elements to find a matching number segment within a configuration SUPI number range. min Matching number range max .

[0058] For example, first determine whether the range of registered numbers meets the judgment condition—matching number range. min ≤ Registration number range min Matching number range max If the conditions are met, then determine whether the range of registration number segments meets the judgment criteria—registration number segment. max Matching number range max .

[0059] In step 1330, the correctness of the registered number range is determined based on the maximum value of the registered number range and the maximum value of the configured number range.

[0060] If the maximum value of the registered number range is greater than the maximum value of the configured number range, proceed to step 1340; if the maximum value of the registered number range is less than or equal to the maximum value of the configured number range, proceed to step 1350.

[0061] In step 1340, it is determined that the registration number range is incorrect.

[0062] In step 1350, it is determined that the registration number range is correct.

[0063] After determining whether the registration number range is correct, it can be done through... Figure 1 The remaining steps in the process continue to process the discovery request.

[0064] In step 140, based on the judgment result, the response information of the discovery request is returned to the visited consumer network element.

[0065] In some embodiments, if the registered number range is determined to be incorrect, a failure response is sent to the visited consumer network element so that the visited consumer network element does not cache the registered number range; if the registered number range is determined to be correct, the registration information of the home producer network element returned by the home NRF network element is sent to the visited consumer network element so that the visited consumer network element processes the discovery request based on the registration information.

[0066] In some embodiments, if the registration number range is determined to be valid, the registration information returned by the home NRF element is returned to the visited NRF element; if the registration number range is determined to be invalid, a discovery failure response is returned to the visited NRF element.

[0067] For example, visited consumer network elements will not cache incorrect number ranges configured in their home area. Instead, they can send an alarm to the network management system to report number range configuration errors, which can then be confirmed and corrected by maintenance personnel in a timely manner.

[0068] For example, in the discovery process, the consumer network sends a discovery request to the NRF network element; the consumer network element caches the registration information of the producer network element returned by the NRF network element locally for a certain period of time to reduce the duplication of the discovery process. In the service request process, the consumer network element selects the appropriate producer network element based on the registration information of the producer network element and sends a service request to that producer network element.

[0069] Figure 3 Schematic diagrams illustrating some embodiments of the discovery request processing method of this disclosure.

[0070] like Figure 3 As shown, in step 0 (not shown in the figure), the backbone network NRF network element is configured with the SUPI configuration number range for each region.

[0071] For example, the configuration number range for province A is 000-099, and the configuration number range for province B is 100-199, etc.

[0072] In some embodiments, due to an incorrect configuration of the registration number range, the UDM network element in province B carries an incorrect registration number range of 000-199 when registering with the NRF network element in province B.

[0073] In step 1, a user from province B (whose SUPI = 111) roams to province A. The AMF network element in province A sends a discovery request to the NRF network element in province A. The discovery request is used to request the address information of the UDM network element that can provide services to the user.

[0074] In step 2, the NRF network element in province A discovers, based on the user's SUPI, that the user's SUPI is not within the configured number range of province A, i.e., the user is not a user of province A, and forwards the discovery request to the backbone network NRF network element.

[0075] In step 3, the backbone network NRF element discovers that the user's SUPI is within the configured number range of province B based on the user's SUPI, and forwards the discovery request to the user's home location—the NRF element of province B.

[0076] In step 4, the NRF network element of province B, based on the user's SUPI, identifies the user as a user of province B and includes the incorrect registration number range (000-199) in the registration information before returning it to the backbone NRF network element. For example, the registration information may also include the registration information of the producer network element of province B (home location).

[0077] In step 5, after receiving the registration information, the backbone network NRF element extracts the registration number segment. min =000, Registration Number Range max =199.

[0078] In step 6, find the minimum and maximum values ​​of the configured number range for province A in the backbone NRF network elements—the matching number range. min =000, matching number range max =099, and determine the matching number range. min ≤ Registration number range min Matching number range max .

[0079] In step 7, the registration number range is compared. max Matching number range max Detected registration number range max Matching number segments max Therefore, it was determined to be within the range of illegally registered numbers.

[0080] In step 8b, a discovery failure response is returned to the NRF network element of the visited province.

[0081] In some embodiments, if it is determined to be within a valid registration number range, step 8a is executed, and the registration information of the home province's UDM network element is returned to the NRF network element of the visited province as a request response, so that the user can process the issuance request through the registration information of the UDM network element.

[0082] In step 9, the NRF network element of the visited province returns a discovery failure response to the AMF network element of the visited province. The AMF network element does not cache the erroneous number range, so it will not affect users in province A using the SA network.

[0083] The above embodiments can avoid the following situation: If the incorrect registration number range is not detected by this method, the AMF network element of the visited province will map the incorrect registration number range 000-199 to the UDM network element of province B; when a user from province A (SUPI=011) accesses the network, the AMF network element requests user information from the UDM network element of province B, but province B does not have the user information from province A, and will return authentication failure, causing the user from province A to be unable to use the SA network.

[0084] In the above embodiments, the backbone network NRF element extracts the range of user SUPI registration numbers that can provide services from the registration information returned by the home network NRF element; the backbone network NRF element determines the illegal registration number range by matching and comparing the locally configured number range and the registered number range, and returns a discovery failure response.

[0085] This effectively avoids the technical problem of users being unable to use the network due to incorrect number segment configuration during the producer's network element registration process.

[0086] For example, nationwide number ranges can be exported from the 4G core network's HDRA and imported into the 5G core network's NRF network elements as the configured number range range, used to forward discovery requests to the home location. This reduces the chance of errors in configuring the number range range.

[0087] For example, backbone network NRF elements can reverse-check the correctness of the registered number range by matching the configured number range with the user SUPI number range (registered number range) that can provide services in the registration information. This prevents registration information containing incorrect number ranges from being returned to visited consumer network elements, thereby improving the accuracy of network element dynamic discovery.

[0088] In some embodiments, the visited consumer network element sends a discovery request for a user roaming to the visited location to the backbone network NRF element through the visited NRF element; the backbone network NRF element sends the discovery request to the user's home NRF element based on the user's identity information in the discovery request; the home NRF element returns the registered number range that the home producer network element can provide services to the backbone network NRF element; the backbone network NRF element determines whether the registered number range is correct based on whether it matches the pre-stored configured number range of the home location; and the backbone network NRF element returns the response information of the discovery request to the visited consumer network element based on the determination result.

[0089] Figure 4 Block diagrams illustrating some embodiments of the discovery request processing apparatus of this disclosure are shown.

[0090] like Figure 4 As shown, the processing device 4 for detecting requests includes a receiving unit 41, a sending unit 42, and a judging unit 43.

[0091] The receiving unit 41 receives a discovery request sent by a user roaming to the visited location through the visited location consumer network element.

[0092] In some embodiments, when the visited NRF network element determines that the user is a roaming user based on the user's identity, the receiving unit 41 receives a discovery request forwarded by the visited NRF network element from the visited consumer network element.

[0093] In some embodiments, when the home NRF network element determines that the user is a home user based on the user's identity information, the receiving unit 41 receives the range of registration number segments that can provide services returned by the home NRF network element.

[0094] The sending unit 42 sends the discovery request to the user's home NRF network element based on the user's identity information in the discovery request; and returns the response information of the discovery request to the visited consumer network element based on the judgment result of the judgment unit. For example, the identity information is SUPI, and both the registration number range and the configuration number range are within the SUPI range.

[0095] In some embodiments, if the sending unit 42 determines that the registration number range is incorrect, it sends a failure response to the visited consumer network element so that the visited consumer network element does not cache the registration number range; if the registration number range is correct, it sends the registration information of the home producer network element returned by the home NRF network element to the visited consumer network element so that the visited consumer network element processes the discovery request based on the registration information.

[0096] The judgment unit 43 determines whether the registered number range is correct based on whether the range of registered number segments that can provide services returned by the home NRF network element matches the pre-stored range of configured number segments of the home.

[0097] In some embodiments, the determining unit 43 determines that the registered number range is correct if the configured number range includes the registered number range, and determines that the registered number range is incorrect if the configured number range does not include the registered number range.

[0098] In some embodiments, the determining unit 43 determines whether the minimum value of the registered number range is greater than or equal to the minimum value of the configured number range and less than the maximum value of the configured number range; if the minimum value of the registered number range is less than the minimum value of the configured number range or greater than the maximum value of the configured number range, the registered number range is determined to be incorrect; if the minimum value of the registered number range is greater than or equal to the minimum value of the configured number range and less than the maximum value of the configured number range, the registered number range is determined to be correct based on the maximum value of the registered number range and the maximum value of the configured number range.

[0099] In some embodiments, the determining unit 43 determines that the registered number range is incorrect if the maximum value of the registered number range is greater than the maximum value of the configured number range; and determines that the registered number range is correct if the maximum value of the registered number range is less than or equal to the maximum value of the configured number range.

[0100] Figure 5 Block diagrams illustrating further embodiments of the discovery request processing apparatus of this disclosure are shown.

[0101] like Figure 5 As shown, the discovery request processing apparatus 5 of this embodiment includes: a memory 51 and a processor 52 coupled to the memory 51. The processor 52 is configured to execute the discovery request processing method of any embodiment of this disclosure based on instructions stored in the memory 51.

[0102] The memory 51 may include, for example, system memory, fixed non-volatile storage media, etc. The system memory stores, for example, the operating system, application programs, a boot loader, a database, and other programs.

[0103] Figure 6 Block diagrams illustrating further embodiments of the discovery request processing apparatus of this disclosure are shown.

[0104] like Figure 6 As shown, the discovery request processing device 6 of this embodiment includes: a memory 610 and a processor 620 coupled to the memory 610. The processor 620 is configured to execute the discovery request processing method of any of the foregoing embodiments based on instructions stored in the memory 610.

[0105] The memory 610 may include, for example, system memory, fixed non-volatile storage media, etc. The system memory may store, for example, the operating system, application programs, a boot loader, and other programs.

[0106] The request processing device 6 may further include an input / output interface 630, a network interface 640, and a storage interface 650. These interfaces 630, 640, and 650, as well as the memory 610 and processor 620, can be connected, for example, via a bus 660. The input / output interface 630 provides a connection interface for input / output devices such as a monitor, mouse, keyboard, touchscreen, microphone, and speakers. The network interface 640 provides a connection interface for various networked devices. The storage interface 650 provides a connection interface for external storage devices such as SD cards and USB flash drives.

[0107] Figure 7 Block diagrams illustrating some embodiments of the discovery request processing system of this disclosure are shown.

[0108] like Figure 7 As shown, the discovery request processing system 7 includes: a backbone NRF network element 71, including a discovery request processing device for executing the processing method in any of the above embodiments; a visited consumer network element 72 for forwarding the discovery request; and a home NRF network element 73 for returning the registration number range that the home producer network element can provide services to the backbone NRF network element.

[0109] Those skilled in the art will understand that embodiments of this disclosure can be provided as methods, systems, or computer program products. Therefore, this disclosure can take the form of a completely hardware embodiment, a completely software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Furthermore, this disclosure can take the form of a computer program product embodied on one or more computer-usable non-transitory storage media containing computer-usable program code, including but not limited to disk storage, CD-ROM, optical storage, etc.

[0110] The processing method, apparatus, and system for discovery requests according to this disclosure have been described in detail above. To avoid obscuring the concept of this disclosure, some details known in the art have not been described. Those skilled in the art will fully understand how to implement the technical solutions disclosed herein based on the above description.

[0111] The methods and systems of this disclosure may be implemented in many ways. For example, they may be implemented by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination of software, hardware, and firmware. The above-described order of steps for the methods is for illustrative purposes only, and the steps of the methods of this disclosure are not limited to the order specifically described above unless otherwise specifically stated. Furthermore, in some embodiments, this disclosure may also be implemented as a program recorded on a recording medium, the program including machine-readable instructions for implementing the methods according to this disclosure. Thus, this disclosure also covers recording media storing programs for performing the methods according to this disclosure.

[0112] While specific embodiments of this disclosure have been described in detail by way of example, those skilled in the art should understand that the examples are for illustrative purposes only and not intended to limit the scope of this disclosure. Those skilled in the art should understand that modifications can be made to the above embodiments without departing from the scope and spirit of this disclosure. The scope of this disclosure is defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A method for processing discovery requests, comprising: Receive discovery requests sent by users roaming to the visited location through the visited location's consumer network element; Based on the user's identity information in the discovery request, the discovery request is sent to the user's home network repository (NRF) element; The correctness of the registered number range is determined by whether the range of registered number segments that can provide services returned by the home NRF network element matches the pre-stored range of configured number segments for the home. Based on the judgment result, the response information of the discovery request is returned to the visited consumer network element. The step of determining whether the registered number range is correct based on whether the range of available service numbers returned by the home NRF network element matches the pre-stored configured number range of the home location includes: Determine whether the minimum value of the registered number range is greater than or equal to the minimum value of the configured number range, and less than the maximum value of the configured number range; If the minimum value of the registered number range is less than the minimum value of the configured number range, or greater than the maximum value of the configured number range, the registered number range is determined to be incorrect. If the minimum value of the registered number range is greater than or equal to the minimum value of the configured number range, but less than the maximum value of the configured number range, then the correctness of the registered number range is determined based on the maximum value of the registered number range and the maximum value of the configured number range. The step of determining whether the registration number range is correct based on the maximum value of the registration number range and the maximum value of the configuration number range includes: If the maximum value of the registered number range is greater than the maximum value of the configured number range, the registered number range is determined to be incorrect. If the maximum value of the registered number range is less than or equal to the maximum value of the configured number range, the registered number range is considered correct.

2. The processing method according to claim 1, wherein, The receiving of discovery requests sent by users roaming to the visited location through the visited location's consumer network element includes: If the visited NRF network element determines that the user is a roaming user based on the user's identity identifier, it receives the discovery request sent by the user through the visited consumer network element, which is forwarded by the visited NRF network element.

3. The processing method according to claim 1 further includes: When the home NRF network element determines that the user is a home user based on the user's identity information, it receives the range of registration number segments that can provide services returned by the home NRF network element.

4. The processing method according to claim 1, wherein, The step of returning the discovery request response information to the visited consumer network element based on the judgment result includes: If the registered number range is determined to be incorrect, a failure response is sent to the visited consumer network element so that the visited consumer network element does not cache the registered number range. If the registered number range is determined to be correct, the visited consumer network element sends the registration information of the home producer network element returned by the home NRF network element to the visited consumer network element, so that the visited consumer network element can process the discovery request based on the registration information.

5. The processing method according to any one of claims 1-4, wherein, The identity information is the user permanent identifier SUPI, and both the registration number range and the configuration number range are within the SUPI range.

6. A method for processing a discovery request, comprising: The visited consumer network element sends a discovery request for users roaming to the visited location to the backbone network NRF network element through the visited network repository function NRF network element; The backbone network NRF element sends the discovery request to the user's home NRF element based on the user's identity information in the discovery request; The home network NRF element returns the range of registration numbers that the home network producer network element can provide services to the backbone network NRF element. The backbone network NRF element determines whether the registered number range is correct based on whether the registered number range matches the pre-stored home location configuration number range. Based on the judgment result, the backbone network NRF element returns the response information of the discovery request to the visited consumer network element. The backbone network NRF element determines whether the registered number range is correct by checking whether the registered number range matches the pre-stored home location configuration number range, including: Determine whether the minimum value of the registered number range is greater than or equal to the minimum value of the configured number range, and less than the maximum value of the configured number range; If the minimum value of the registered number range is less than the minimum value of the configured number range, or greater than the maximum value of the configured number range, the registered number range is determined to be incorrect. If the minimum value of the registered number range is greater than or equal to the minimum value of the configured number range, but less than the maximum value of the configured number range, then the correctness of the registered number range is determined based on the maximum value of the registered number range and the maximum value of the configured number range. The step of determining whether the registration number range is correct based on the maximum value of the registration number range and the maximum value of the configuration number range includes: If the maximum value of the registered number range is greater than the maximum value of the configured number range, the registered number range is determined to be incorrect. If the maximum value of the registered number range is less than or equal to the maximum value of the configured number range, the registered number range is considered correct.

7. A processing apparatus for a discovery request, comprising: The receiving unit is used to receive discovery requests sent by users roaming to the visited location through the visited location's consumer network element; The sending unit is configured to send the discovery request to the home network repository (NRF) element of the user based on the user's identity information in the discovery request, and return the response information of the discovery request to the visited consumer element based on the judgment result of the judgment unit. The judgment unit is used to determine whether the registered number range is correct based on whether the range of available service numbers returned by the home NRF network element matches the pre-stored configured number range of the home location. The judgment unit is used to determine whether the minimum value of the registered number segment range is greater than or equal to the minimum value of the configured number segment range, and less than the maximum value of the configured number segment range. If the minimum value of the registered number range is less than the minimum value of the configured number range, or greater than the maximum value of the configured number range, the registered number range is determined to be incorrect. If the minimum value of the registered number range is greater than or equal to the minimum value of the configured number range, but less than the maximum value of the configured number range, then the correctness of the registered number range is determined based on the maximum value of the registered number range and the maximum value of the configured number range. The judgment unit is used to determine that the registered number segment range is incorrect when the maximum value of the registered number segment range is greater than the maximum value of the configured number segment range, and to determine that the registered number segment range is correct when the maximum value of the registered number segment range is less than or equal to the maximum value of the configured number segment range.

8. A system for processing discovery requests, comprising: The backbone network repository function (NRF) network element includes a discovery request processing device for executing the processing method according to any one of claims 1-5; Visiting consumer network elements are used to forward discovery requests; The home NRF element is used to return the range of registration numbers that the home producer network element can provide services to the backbone NRF element.

9. A processing apparatus for a discovery request, comprising: Memory; and A processor coupled to the memory, the processor being configured to execute the processing method for the discovery request as described in any one of claims 1-5 based on instructions stored in the memory.

10. A non-volatile computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, which, when executed by a processor, implements the method for processing a discovery request as described in any one of claims 1-5.

Images