A method and apparatus for selecting a policy control function network element

Abstract

The present disclosure proposes a method for selecting a Policy Control Function (PCF) network element, which relates to the field of mobile communications. The technical solution of the present disclosure is that for a Packet Data Unit (PDU) session of a User Equipment (UE) within a UE group, the PCF network element determines whether to select a common PCF network element that serves each UE in the UE group for the PDU session of the UE, and requests the Binding Support Function (BSF) network element to select a PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE based on the determination result. The present disclosure also provides a Policy Control Function (PCF) network element selection device, a communication device, and a computer storage medium. By implementing the embodiments of the present application, the PCF network element provides a PCF network element selection method for selecting the same PCF network element for each UE within the same UE group by determining whether to select the same PCF network element for each UE in the same UE group, thereby avoiding the interaction process between multiple PCF network elements serving the same UE group.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the field of mobile communication technologies, and particularly relates to a method and apparatus for selecting a Policy Control Function (PCF) network element. Background Art

[0002] In the current mobile network system, Packet Data Unit (PDU) sessions of different User Equipments (UEs) are served by different Policy Control Function (PCF) network elements, even for UEs belonging to the same UE group, which results in a heavy interaction process between different PCF network elements when performing group policy coordination between different UEs. Summary of the Invention

[0003] A first aspect embodiment of the present disclosure provides a method for selecting a PCF network element. The method is applied to a first PCF network element, and the method includes: when a received policy association creation request is related to a PDU session of a UE within a UE group, determining whether to select a common PCF network element for serving the PDU session of each UE in the UE group; and based on a result of determining whether to select the common PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE, requesting a Binding Support Function (BSF) network element to select a PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE.

[0004] Optionally, the determining whether to select a common PCF network element for serving the PDU session of each UE in the UE group includes: obtaining a user description of the UE from a User Data Repository (UDR), where the user description indicates whether the UE has subscribed to a service that requires group policy coordination; and determining whether to select the common PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE according to the user description.

[0005] Optionally, the determining whether to select a common PCF network element for serving the PDU session of each UE in the UE group includes: determining whether to select the common PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE based on a local policy in the first PCF network element, where the local policy indicates whether the same PCF network element serves each UE belonging to the same UE group.

[0006] Optionally, requesting the binding support function (BSF) network element to select a PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE based on the result of determining whether to select the common PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE includes: when the result indicates that it is necessary to select the common PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE, requesting the BSF network element to select the common PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE.

[0007] Optionally, requesting the BSF network element to select the common PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE includes: sending a registration request associated with the PDU session of the UE to the BSF network element, where the registration request includes the UE group identifier of the UE group.

[0008] Optionally, the method further includes: receiving the available PCF network element information fed back by the BSF network element, where the available PCF network element information is fed back when the BSF network element determines that the first PCF network element cannot be used as the common PCF network element based on the registration request, and the available PCF network element information is the relevant information of the common PCF network element; and feeding back the available PCF network element information to the session management function (SMF) network element.

[0009] Optionally, the UE group identifier is obtained by querying the user description of the UE stored in the UDR.

[0010] Optionally, requesting the binding support function BSF network element to select a PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE based on the result of determining whether to select the common PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE includes: when the result indicates that there is no need to select the common PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE, requesting the BSF network element to select the first PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE.

[0011] An embodiment of the second aspect of the present disclosure provides a method for selecting a PCF network element, which is applied to a BSF network element. The method includes: receiving a registration request from a first PCF network element, where the registration request is related to the PDU session of a UE in a UE group and includes the UE group identifier of the UE group; and selecting a common PCF network element for serving each UE in the UE group for the PDU session of the UE based on the registration request.

[0012] Optionally, the method for selecting a common PCF network element for serving each UE in the UE group based on the registration request includes: when the binding information including the UE group identifier is not registered in the BSF network element, registering the binding information including the UE group identifier and selecting the first PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE.

[0013] Optionally, the method for selecting a common PCF network element for serving each UE in the UE group based on the registration request includes: when the binding information including the UE group identifier is already registered in the BSF network element and the PCF network element indicated in the registered binding information is the first PCF network element, selecting the first PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE.

[0014] Optionally, the method for selecting a common PCF network element for serving each UE in the UE group based on the registration request includes: when the binding information including the UE group identifier is already registered in the BSF network element and the PCF network element indicated in the registered binding information is not the first PCF network element, feeding back available PCF network element information to the first PCF network element, where the available PCF network element information is the relevant information of the PCF network element indicated in the registered binding information.

[0015] Optionally, the method further includes: when the policy request related to the application function (AF) session of the UE in the UE group carried in the received message carries the UE group identifier, selecting the common PCF network element for the AF session based on the UE group identifier.

[0016] An embodiment of the third aspect of the present disclosure provides a method for selecting a PCF network element, which is applied to an application function (AF) network element. The method includes: when initiating an AF session for a UE in a user equipment (UE) group, sending a policy request carrying the UE group identifier of the UE group to a binding support function (BSF) network element.

[0017] Optionally, the UE group identifier is stored in the user description of the UE in the user data repository (UDR).

[0018] Optionally, the user description further indicates whether the UE has subscribed to a service that requires group policy coordination.

[0019] An embodiment of the fourth aspect of the present disclosure provides a PCF network element selection device, which is applied to a first PCF network element. The device includes: a determination module, configured to determine whether to select a common PCF network element serving each UE in the UE group for the PDU session of the UE when a received policy association creation request is related to the PDU session of the UE in the user equipment (UE) group; and a sending module, configured to request, based on the result of determining whether to select the common PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE, the binding support function (BSF) network element to select a PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE.

[0020] Optionally, the determination module is configured to: obtain the user description of the UE from a user data repository (UDR), where the user description indicates whether the UE has subscribed to a service that requires group policy coordination; and determine whether to select the common PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE according to the user description.

[0021] Optionally, the determination module is configured to: determine whether to select the common PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE based on the local policy in the first PCF network element, where the local policy indicates whether the same PCF network element serves each UE belonging to the same UE group.

[0022] Optionally, the sending module is configured to: when the result indicates that it is necessary to select the common PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE, request the BSF network element to select the common PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE.

[0023] Optionally, the sending module is configured to: send a registration request associated with the PDU session of the UE to the BSF network element, where the registration request includes the UE group identifier of the UE group.

[0024] Optionally, the device further includes a receiving module, configured to receive the available PCF network element information fed back by the BSF network element, where the available PCF network element information is fed back when the BSF network element determines that the first PCF network element cannot be used as the common PCF network element based on the registration request, and the available PCF network element information is the relevant information of the common PCF network element; and the sending module is configured to feed back the available PCF network element information to a session management function (SMF) network element.

[0025] Optionally, the UE group identifier is obtained by querying the user description of the UE stored in the UDR.

[0026] Optionally, the sending module is configured to: when the result indicates that there is no need to select the common PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE, request the BSF network element to select the first PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE.

[0027] An embodiment of the fifth aspect of the present disclosure provides a PCF network element selection device, which is applied to a BSF network element. The device includes: a receiving module, configured to receive a registration request from a first PCF network element, where the registration request is related to a packet data unit (PDU) session of a user equipment (UE) within a UE group and includes a UE group identifier of the UE group; and a registration module, configured to select, based on the registration request, a common PCF network element that serves each UE in the UE group for the PDU session of the UE.

[0028] Optionally, the registration module is configured to: when there is no bound information including the UE group identifier registered in the BSF network element, register the bound information including the UE group identifier and select the first PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE.

[0029] Optionally, the registration module is configured to: when there is bound information including the UE group identifier registered in the BSF network element and the PCF network element indicated in the registered bound information is the first PCF network element, select the first PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE.

[0030] Optionally, the registration module is configured to: when there is bound information including the UE group identifier registered in the BSF network element and the PCF network element indicated in the registered bound information is not the first PCF network element, feedback available PCF network element information to the first PCF network element, where the available PCF network element information is information related to the PCF network element indicated in the registered bound information.

[0031] Optionally, the registration module is configured to: when a policy request related to an application function (AF) session of a UE within the UE group carried in the received policy request carries the UE group identifier, select the common PCF network element for the AF session based on the UE group identifier.

[0032] An embodiment of the sixth aspect of the present disclosure provides a PCF network element selection device, which is applied to an AF network element. The device includes: a sending module, configured to send a policy request carrying the UE group identifier of the UE group to a binding support function (BSF) network element when initiating an AF session for a UE within a UE group.

[0033] A seventh aspect embodiment of the present disclosure provides a communication device, including: a transceiver; a memory; and a processor, which is respectively connected to the transceiver and the memory, and is configured to control the wireless signal transceiver of the transceiver by executing computer-executable instructions on the memory, and can implement the PCF network element selection method described in the first aspect embodiment, the second aspect embodiment, or the third aspect embodiment above.

[0034] Optionally, the UE group identifier is stored in the user description of the UE in the user data register UDR.

[0035] Optionally, the user description further indicates whether the UE has subscribed to a service that requires group policy coordination.

[0036] An eighth aspect embodiment of the present disclosure proposes a computer storage medium, wherein the computer storage medium stores computer-executable instructions; after the computer-executable instructions are executed by a processor, the PCF network element selection method described in the first aspect embodiment, the second aspect embodiment, or the third aspect embodiment above can be implemented.

[0037] In a PCF network element selection method and apparatus provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure, for a packet data unit (PDU) session of a UE in a user equipment (UE) group, a PCF network element determines whether to select a common PCF network element for serving each UE in the UE group for the PDU session of the UE, and requests a PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE from a binding support function (BSF) network element based on the determination result. Thus, by determining whether to select the same PCF network element for each UE in the same UE group, the PCF network element provides a PCF network element selection method for selecting the same PCF network element for each UE in the same UE group, thereby avoiding the interaction process between multiple PCF network elements serving the same UE group.

[0038] Additional aspects and advantages of the present disclosure will be given in part in the following description, become apparent in part from the following description, or be learned through the practice of the present disclosure. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0039] The above and / or additional aspects and advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent and be readily understood from the following description of the embodiments in conjunction with the drawings, where:

[0040] Figure 1 is a schematic flowchart of a PCF network element selection method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0041] Figure 2 is a schematic flowchart of a PCF network element selection method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0042] Figure 3Schematic flowchart of a PCF network element selection method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0043] Figure 4 Schematic flowchart of a PCF network element selection method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0044] Figure 5 Schematic flowchart of a PCF network element selection method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0045] Figure 6 Schematic flowchart of a PCF network element selection method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0046] Figure 7 Schematic flowchart of a PCF network element selection method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0047] Figure 8 Schematic flowchart of another PCF network element selection method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0048] Figure 9 Schematic flowchart of another PCF network element selection method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0049] Figure 10 Schematic flowchart of another PCF network element selection method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0050] Figure 11 Schematic flowchart of another PCF network element selection method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0051] Figure 12 Schematic flowchart of another PCF network element selection method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0052] Figure 13 Schematic flowchart of yet another PCF network element selection method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0053] Figure 14 Schematic structural diagram of a PCF network element selection device provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0054] Figure 15 Schematic structural diagram of a PCF network element selection device provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0055] Figure 16 Schematic structural diagram of another PCF network element selection device provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0056] Figure 17 Schematic structural diagram of yet another PCF network element selection device provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0057] Figure 18 Schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0058] Figure 19 Schematic structural diagram of a chip provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure. Detailed implementation manners

[0059] Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail below. Examples of the embodiments are shown in the accompanying drawings, where the same or similar reference numerals denote the same or similar elements or elements having the same or similar functions throughout. The embodiments described below with reference to the accompanying drawings are exemplary and are intended to explain the present disclosure, and should not be construed as a limitation to the present disclosure.

[0060] In the current field of mobile communication technology, the packet data unit (PDU) sessions of different user equipments (UEs) are served by different policy control function (PCF) network elements, even for UEs belonging to the same UE group, resulting in a heavy interaction process between different PCF network elements.

[0061] The present disclosure provides a method and apparatus for PCF network element selection. For the PDU sessions of UEs within a user equipment (UE) group, the PCF network element determines whether to select a common PCF network element that serves each UE in the UE group for the PDU session of the UE, and requests the binding support function (BSF) network element to select a PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE based on the determination result. Thus, by determining whether to select the same PCF network element for each UE in the same UE group, the PCF network element provides a method for selecting a PCF network element that selects the same PCF network element for each UE within the same UE group, thereby avoiding the interaction process between multiple PCF network elements serving the same UE group.

[0062] The method and apparatus for PCF network element selection provided by the present application will be introduced in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0063] Figure 1 The flowchart of a method for PCF network element selection according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. This method is applied to a first PCF network element, as Figure 1 shown, this method may include but is not limited to the following steps:

[0064] Step S101, when the received policy association creation request is related to the PDU session of a UE within a UE group, determine whether to select a common PCF network element that serves each UE in the UE group for the PDU session of the UE.

[0065] In this embodiment, for the PDU session of the UE belonging to the UE group, the service management function (SMF) network element may select a PCF network element (hereinafter referred to as the "first PCF network element" for clarity) to serve the PDU session of the UE. For example, the SMF network element may send a policy association creation request to the selected PCF network element. After receiving the policy association creation request, the first PCF network element may determine whether to select a common PCF network element that serves each UE in the UE group for the PDU session of the UE, that is, the first PCF network element determines whether to select the same PCF network element to serve each UE in the UE group.

[0066] Step S102: Based on the result of determining whether to select a common PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE, request the BSF network element to select a PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE.

[0067] The first PCF network element may request the BSF network element to select a PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE based on the determination result of step S101.

[0068] For example, the determination result may be that it is necessary to select a common PCF network element that serves each UE in the UE group for the PDU session of the UE (that is, the first PCF network element determines to select the same PCF network element for each UE in the UE group).

[0069] Another example, the determination result may be that it is not necessary to select a common PCF network element that serves each UE in the UE group for the PDU session of the UE (that is, the first PCF network element determines that it is not necessary to select the same PCF network element for each UE in the UE group).

[0070] The first PCF network element requests the BSF network element to select a suitable PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE based on the determination result.

[0071] By implementing this embodiment, the PCF network element provides a PCF network element selection method for selecting the same PCF network element for each UE in the same UE group by determining whether to select the same PCF network element for each UE in the same UE group, thereby avoiding the interaction process between multiple PCF network elements serving the same UE group.

[0072] Figure 2 The flowchart shows a method for selecting a PCF network element according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. This method is applied to the first PCF network element and is based on Figure 1 the described embodiment, as Figure 2 shown, this method may include but is not limited to the following steps:

[0073] Step S201: When the received policy association creation request is related to the PDU session of the UE in the UE group, determine whether a common PCF network element serving each UE in the UE group is selected for the PDU session of the UE.

[0074] In some embodiments, the above step S201 can be implemented through the following steps:

[0075] Step S2011: Obtain the user description of the UE from the user data repository (UDR), where the user description indicates whether the UE has subscribed to services that require group policy coordination.

[0076] In a mobile communication system, as a data warehouse, the UDR can store information such as subscription data and policy data. By obtaining the user description of the UE from the USR, it can be learned whether the UE has subscribed to services that require group policy coordination. Among them, services that require group policy coordination indicate that there is a need for coordination between the policies of this UE and the UEs in the same UE group to which it belongs. In this case, it is beneficial to select a common PCF network element serving each UE in the UE group to serve the UE.

[0077] Step S2012: Determine whether to select a common PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE according to the user description.

[0078] After obtaining the user description, it can be determined whether to select a common PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE according to whether the UE has subscribed to services that require group policy coordination. If the UE has subscribed to services that require group policy coordination, it can be determined to select a common PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE. If the UE has not subscribed to services that require group policy coordination, this indicates that there is no need for policy coordination between this UE and each UE in the same UE group to which it belongs. In this case, it can be determined that there is no need to select a common PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE.

[0079] S202: Based on the result of determining whether to select a common PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE, request the BSF network element to select a PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE.

[0080] Regarding the specific implementation details of the above step S202, reference can be made to the relevant description of step S102 in the Figure 1 illustrated embodiment, which will not be elaborated here.

[0081] By implementing this embodiment, the PCF network element can determine whether to select a common PCF network element serving each UE in the same UE group for the PDU session of the UE based on the user description of the UE obtained from the UDR. The user description of the UE is stored in the UDR, and according to this user description, it can be directly known whether the UE has subscribed to services that require group policy coordination. Thus, the PCF network element can determine whether to select a common PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE.

[0082] Figure 3 FIG. shows a flowchart of a method for selecting a PCF network element according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. This method is applied to a first PCF network element and is based on as Figure 1 described in the embodiment, as Figure 3 shown, this method may include but is not limited to the following steps:

[0083] Step S301, when the received policy association creation request is related to the PDU session of the UE in the UE group, determine whether to select a common PCF network element serving each UE in the UE group for the PDU session of the UE.

[0084] In some embodiments, the above step S301 may be implemented through the following steps:

[0085] Step S3011, based on the local policy in the first PCF network element, determine whether to select a common PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE, where the local policy indicates whether the same PCF network element serves each UE belonging to the same UE group.

[0086] In a mobile communication system, relevant policies may be pre-configured in the PCF network element. These relevant policies may indicate whether to select the same PCF network element to provide services for each UE belonging to the same UE group. By configuring these relevant policies, the PCF network element can directly know whether it is necessary to select a common PCF network element serving each UE in the UE group for the PDU session of the UE.

[0087] S302, based on the result of determining whether to select a common PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE, request the BSF network element to select a PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE.

[0088] Regarding the specific implementation details of the above step S302, reference may be made to the relevant description of step S102 in the embodiment shown in Figure 1 FIG., and details will not be elaborated here.

[0089] By implementing this embodiment, the PCF network element can determine, based on local policies, whether to select a common PCF network element that serves each UE in the same UE group for the PDU session of the UE. Since the PCF network element indicates in the local policy whether the same PCF network element serves each UE belonging to the same UE group, the PCF network element can directly and quickly determine from the local policy whether to select a common PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE, without querying the UDR.

[0090] Figure 4 FIG. shows a flowchart of a method for selecting a PCF network element according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. This method is applied to a first PCF network element and is based on any one of the embodiments as described in Figures 1 - 3 As in any of the embodiments described above, as in Figure 4 shown, the method may include but is not limited to the following steps:

[0091] Step S401, when the received policy association creation request is related to the PDU session of a UE within a UE group, determine whether to select a common PCF network element that serves each UE in the UE group for the PDU session of the UE.

[0092] Regarding the specific implementation details of the above step S401, reference may be made to the relevant descriptions of step S101 in the embodiment shown in Figure 1 as shown, step S201 in the embodiment shown in Figure 2 and step S301 in the embodiment shown in Figure 3 as shown. Details will not be elaborated here.

[0093] S402, based on the result of determining whether to select a common PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE, request the BSF network element to select a PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE.

[0094] As described above, based on the relevant description of step S101 in the embodiment of Figure 1 the determination result may be that a common PCF network element that serves each UE in the UE group needs to be selected for the PDU session of the UE, or it may be that a common PCF network element that serves each UE in the UE group does not need to be selected for the PDU session of the UE. Based on different determination results, different registration requests can be made to the BSF network element.

[0095] For example, the above step S402 can be implemented through the following steps:

[0096] S4021, when the result indicates that a common PCF network element needs to be selected for the PDU session of the UE, request the BSF network element to select a common PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE.

[0097] In this embodiment, for the determination result that a common PCF network element serving each UE in the UE group needs to be selected for the PDU session of the UE (i.e., the first PCF network element determines to select the same PCF network element for each UE in the UE group), the first PCF network element may send a registration request to the BSF network element to select a common PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE, so as to achieve the purpose of selecting a common PCF network element that serves each UE in the UE group to which the UE belongs for the PDU session of the UE.

[0098] By implementing this embodiment, when the PCF network element determines that a common PCF network element serving each UE in the UE group to which the UE belongs needs to be selected for the PDU session of the UE, it sends a registration request to the BSF network element to select the common PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE, thereby achieving the purpose of selecting the same PCF network element for each UE in the same UE group.

[0099] Figure 5 The flowchart of a method for selecting a PCF network element according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. This method is applied to the first PCF network element and is based on as Figure 4 the described embodiment, as Figure 5 shown, this method may include but is not limited to the following steps:

[0100] Step S501, when the received policy association creation request is related to the PDU session of the UE in the UE group, determine whether to select a common PCF network element serving each UE in the UE group for the PDU session of the UE.

[0101] Regarding the specific implementation details of the above step S501, reference may be made to the relevant descriptions of step S101 in the embodiment shown in Figure 1 shown, step S201 in the embodiment shown in Figure 2 shown, and step S301 in the embodiment shown in Figure 3 shown, which will not be elaborated here.

[0102] S502, based on the result of determining whether to select a common PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE, request the BSF network element to select a PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE.

[0103] As described above based on Figure 1 the relevant description of step S101 in the embodiment, the determination result may be that a common PCF network element serving each UE in the UE group needs to be selected for the PDU session of the UE or may be that there is no need to select a common PCF network element serving each UE in the UE group for the PDU session of the UE. Based on different determination results, different registration requests may be sent to the BSF network element.

[0104] In some embodiments, the above step S502 may be implemented through the following steps:

[0105] S5021. When the result indicates that a common PCF network element needs to be selected for the PDU session of the UE, request the BSF network element to select a common PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE.

[0106] In this embodiment, for the determination result that a common PCF network element serving each UE within the UE group needs to be selected for the PDU session of the UE (i.e., the first PCF network element determines to select the same PCF network element for each UE within the UE group), the first PCF network element may send a registration request to the BSF network element to select a common PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE through the following steps:

[0107] S50211. Send a registration request associated with the PDU session of the UE to the BSF network element, so that the BSF network element selects the first PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE when determining based on the registration request that the first PCF network element can serve as the common PCF network element, where the registration request includes the UE group identifier of the UE group.

[0108] In this implementation, when the first PCF network element determines that a common PCF network element serving each UE within the UE group to which the UE belongs needs to be selected for the PDU session of the UE, by sending a registration request carrying the UE group identifier of the UE group to the BSF network element, the BSF network element can select a common PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE based on the UE group identifier, that is, the BSF network element selects the same PCF network element for the PDU session of each UE in a group of UEs based on the UE group identifier of the group of UEs.

[0109] In some embodiments, the UE group identifier may be obtained by querying the user description of the UE stored in the UDR.

[0110] The UE group identifier of the UE group to which the UE belongs may be recorded in the user description of the UE stored in the UDR, so that any network device in need can obtain the UE group identifier of the UE group to which the UE belongs by querying the user description of the UE stored in the UDR. For example, when the PCF network element determines that a common PCF network element serving each UE in the UE group to which the UE belongs needs to be selected for the PDU session of the UE, it may obtain the UE group identifier of the UE group by querying the user description of the UE stored in the UDR, and carry the UE group identifier in the registration request and send it to the BSF network element to request the selection of the common PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE.

[0111] Generally, after receiving a registration request for a certain PDU session from a certain PCF network element, the BSF network element will preferentially consider selecting that PCF network element for that PDU session. However, in this embodiment, after receiving a registration request for a PDU session of a certain UE carrying a UE group identifier from a first PCF network element, even though the registration request comes from the first PCF network element, since the registration request carries a UE group identifier (which indicates that it is desired to select a common PCF network element that serves each UE of the UE group to which the UE belongs) for the PDU session of that UE, the BSF network element will determine whether the first PCF network element can be used as the common PCF network element. Only when the first PCF network element can be used as the common PCF network element will the BSF network element select the first PCF network element for the PDU session of that UE.

[0112] In some embodiments, the conditions for the first PCF network element to be able to serve as a common PCF network element include one of the following: there is no bound information including the UE group identifier registered in the BSF network element; and there is bound information including the UE group identifier registered in the BSF network element and the PCF network element indicated in the registered bound information is the first PCF network element.

[0113] The BSF network element can determine whether the first PCF network element can serve as a common PCF network element according to the registration status of the bound information.

[0114] For example, if there is no bound information including the UE group identifier registered in the BSF network element, this indicates that the BSF network element has not selected a PCF network element for the PDU session of any UE in that UE group. In this case, any PCF network element can be selected for the PDU session of that UE. Given that the registration request is sent by the first PCF network element, the first PCF network element can be used as the common PCF network element and the first PCF network element can be selected for the PDU session of that UE.

[0115] Another example is that if there is bound information including the UE group identifier registered in the BSF network element, this indicates that the BSF network element has already selected a PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE in that UE group. Then, it can be determined according to the registered bound information whether the PCF network element that has been selected for the PDU session of the UE in that UE group (hereinafter referred to as the "selected PCF network element") is the first PCF network element. Generally, the information of the selected PCF network element will be recorded in the bound information. If the information of the selected PCF network element indicates that the selected PCF network element is the first PCF network element, this means that the common PCF network element that serves each UE in that UE group is the first PCF network element, and then the first PCF network element can be selected for the PDU session of that UE.

[0116] By implementing this embodiment, when the PCF network element determines that it is necessary to select a common PCF network element for serving each UE in the UE group to which the UE belongs for the PDU session of the UE, the common PCF network element is selected for the PDU session of the UE by sending a registration request carrying the UE group identifier of the UE group to the BSF network element, thereby achieving the purpose of selecting the same PCF network element for each UE in the same UE group.

[0117] Figure 6 FIG. shows a schematic flow chart of a method for selecting a PCF network element according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. This method is applied to a first PCF network element and is based on, as Figure 5 described in the embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, this method may include but is not limited to the following steps:

[0118] Step S601, when the received policy association creation request is related to the PDU session of the UE in the UE group, determine whether to select a common PCF network element for serving each UE in the UE group for the PDU session of the UE.

[0119] Regarding the specific implementation details of the above step S601, reference may be made to the relevant descriptions of step S101 in the embodiment shown in Figure 1 FIG., Figure 2 step S201 in the embodiment shown in Figure 3 FIG. and step S301 in the embodiment shown in

[0120] FIG., which will not be elaborated here.

[0121] As described above based on Figure 1 the relevant description of step S101 in the embodiment, the determination result may be that it is necessary to select a common PCF network element for serving each UE in the UE group for the PDU session of the UE, or it may be that there is no need to select a common PCF network element for serving each UE in the UE group for the PDU session of the UE. Based on different determination results, different registration requests can be sent to the BSF network element.

[0122] In some embodiments, the above step S602 can be implemented through the following steps:

[0123] S6021, when the result indicates that it is necessary to select a common PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE, request the BSF network element to select a common PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE.

[0124] In this embodiment, for the determination result that a common PCF network element serving each UE in the UE group needs to be selected for the PDU session of the UE (that is, the first PCF network element determines to select the same PCF network element for each UE in the UE group), the first PCF network element may send a registration request to the BSF network element to select a common PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE through the following steps:

[0125] S60211. Send a registration request associated with the PDU session of the UE to the BSF network element, so that the BSF network element selects the first PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE when determining based on the registration request that the first PCF network element can be used as a common PCF network element, where the registration request includes the UE group identifier of the UE group.

[0126] Regarding the specific implementation details of the above step S60211, reference can be made to the relevant description of step S50211 in the embodiment shown in Figure 5 which will not be elaborated here.

[0127] S60212. Receive the available PCF network element information fed back by the BSF network element, where the available PCF network element information is fed back when the BSF network element determines based on the registration request that the first PCF network element cannot be used as a common PCF network element, and the available PCF network element information is the relevant information of the common PCF network element.

[0128] As described in the above step S60211, when the first PCF network element determines that a common PCF network element serving each UE in the UE group to which the UE belongs needs to be selected for the PDU session of the UE, it sends a registration request carrying the UE group identifier of the UE group to the BSF network element, and when the BSF network element determines based on the UE group identifier that the first PCF network element can be used as a common PCF network element, it selects the first PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE.

[0129] However, if the BSF network element determines based on the UE group identifier that the first PCF network element cannot be used as a common PCF network element, the BSF network element will not select the first PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE and will feed back the available PCF network element information to the first PCF network element, and the available PCF network element information is the relevant information of the common PCF network element.

[0130] In some embodiments, the conditions for the first PCF network element not to be able to be used as a common PCF network element include: there is bound information including the UE group identifier registered in the BSF network element and the PCF network element indicated in the registered bound information is not the first PCF network element.

[0131] The BSF network element can determine whether the first PCF network element can be used as a common PCF network element according to the registration situation of the bound information.

[0132] For example, if the binding information including the UE group identifier has been registered in the BSF network element, it indicates that the BSF network element has selected a PCF network element for the PDU session of the UEs in the UE group. Then, it can be determined whether the PCF network element (hereinafter referred to as the "selected PCF network element") that has been selected for the PDU session of the UEs in the UE group is the first PCF network element. Generally, the information of the selected PCF network element is recorded in the binding information. If the information of the selected PCF network element indicates that the selected PCF network element is not the first PCF network element, it means that the common PCF network element serving each UE in the UE group is not the first PCF network element. In this case, the first PCF network element should not be selected for the PDU session of the UE. In this situation, the common PCF network element serving each UE in the UE group is the PCF network element specified in the registered binding information. The BSF network element will feedback the available PCF network element information indicating the relevant information of the PCF network element specified in the registered binding information to the first PCF network element.

[0133] S60213, feedback the available PCF network element information to the SMF network element so that the SMF network element can re-select the common PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE based on the available PCF network element information.

[0134] The first PCF network element receives the available PCF network element information from the BSF network element, which indicates that the first PCF network element is not suitable for serving the PDU session of the UE. That is to say, when the SMF network element selects a PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE, it fails to select a suitable PCF network element. In this case, the first PCF network element feedbacks the available PCF network element information to the SMF network element so that the SMF network element can re-select a suitable PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE according to the available PCF network element information. Since the available PCF network element information is the relevant information of the common PCF network element, the SMF network element can select the common PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE according to the available PCF network element information, thus achieving the purpose of selecting the same PCF network element for the PDU session of each UE within the same group of UEs.

[0135] By implementing this embodiment, when the PCF network element determines that it is necessary to select a common PCF network element for serving each UE in the UE group to which the UE belongs for the PDU session of the UE, the common PCF network element is selected for the PDU session of the UE by sending a registration request carrying the UE group identifier of the UE group to the BSF network element, thus achieving the purpose of selecting the same PCF network element for each UE within the same UE group.

[0136] Figure 7 shows a schematic flowchart of a method for selecting a PCF network element according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. This method is applied to the first PCF network element and is based on asFigures 1 - 3 Any of the above embodiments, such as Figure 7 shown, the method may include but is not limited to the following steps:

[0137] Step S701, when the received policy association creation request is related to the PDU session of the UE in the UE group, determine whether a common PCF network element serving each UE in the UE group is selected for the PDU session of the UE.

[0138] Regarding the specific implementation details of the above step S701, reference may be made to the Figure 1 steps S101 in the embodiment shown in Figure 2 the steps S201 in the embodiment shown in Figure 3 and the relevant descriptions of the steps S301 in the embodiment shown in, and details will not be elaborated here.

[0139] S702, based on the result of determining whether a common PCF network element is selected for the PDU session of the UE, request the BSF network element to select a PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE.

[0140] As described above based on Figure 1 the relevant description of step S101 in the embodiment of, the determination result may be that a common PCF network element serving each UE in the UE group needs to be selected for the PDU session of the UE or may be that a common PCF network element serving each UE in the UE group does not need to be selected for the PDU session of the UE. Based on different determination results, different registration requests can be made to the BSF network element.

[0141] In some embodiments, the above step S702 can be implemented through the following steps:

[0142] S7021, when the result indicates that a common PCF network element does not need to be selected for the PDU session of the UE, request the BSF network element to select a first PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE.

[0143] In this embodiment, for the determination result that a common PCF network element serving each UE in the UE group does not need to be selected for the PDU session of the UE (i.e., the first PCF network element determines that the same PCF network element does not need to be selected for each UE in the UE group), the first PCF network element can make a registration request to the BSF network element to select a first PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE, for example, send a registration request to the BSF network element, and the UE group identifier of the UE group is not carried in the registration request. After the BSF network element receives the registration request from the first PCF network element, since the UE group identifier is not carried in the registration request, the BSF network element will select the first PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE.

[0144] By implementing this embodiment, when the PCF network element determines that it is not necessary to select a common PCF network element for serving each UE in the UE group to which the UE belongs for the PDU session of the UE, it sends a registration request to the BSF network element to select a PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE, so that the BSF network element can select the PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE.

[0145] Figure 8 FIG. shows a flowchart of another method for selecting a PCF network element according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. This method is applied to the BSF network element, as Figure 8 shown, this method may include but is not limited to the following steps:

[0146] Step S801: Receive a registration request from a first PCF network element, where the registration request is related to the packet data unit (PDU) session of a UE in a user equipment (UE) group and includes the UE group identifier of the UE group.

[0147] In this embodiment, for the PDU session of a UE belonging to a UE group, the service management function (SMF) network element may select a PCF network element (hereinafter referred to as the "first PCF network element" for clarity) to serve the PDU session of the UE. For example, the SMF network element may send a policy association creation request to the selected PCF network element. When the first PCF network element receives the policy association creation request, it may send a registration request carrying the UE group identifier of the UE group to the BSF network element to request to select a common PCF network element for serving each UE in the UE group for the PDU session of the UE.

[0148] Step S802: Based on the registration request, select a common PCF network element for serving each UE in the UE group for the PDU session of the UE.

[0149] After receiving the registration request carrying the UE group identifier, the BSF network element will select a common PCF network element for serving each UE in the UE group for the PDU session of the UE based on the UE group identifier.

[0150] By implementing this embodiment, after receiving the registration request carrying the UE group identifier of the UE group from the PCF network element selected for the PDU session of the UE in the UE group, the BSF network element selects a common PCF network element for serving each UE in the UE group for the PDU session of the UE, thereby achieving the purpose of selecting the same PCF network element for each UE in the same UE group.

[0151] Figure 9 FIG. shows a flowchart of another method for selecting a PCF network element according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. This method is applied to the BSF network element and is based on as Figure 8The illustrated embodiment, such as Figure 9 shown, the method may include but is not limited to the following steps:

[0152] Step S901: Receive a registration request from a first PCF network element, where the registration request is related to a packet data unit (PDU) session of a user equipment (UE) within a UE group and includes a UE group identifier of the UE group.

[0153] Regarding the specific implementation details of the above step S901, reference may be made to the relevant description of step S801 in the Figure 8 illustrated embodiment, which will not be elaborated here.

[0154] Step S902: Based on the registration request, select a common PCF network element for serving each UE within the UE group for the PDU session of the UE.

[0155] Upon receiving a registration request carrying the UE group identifier, the BSF network element will select a common PCF network element for serving each UE within the UE group for the PDU session of the UE based on the UE group identifier.

[0156] In some embodiments, the above step S902 may be implemented through the following steps:

[0157] Step S9021: When the binding information including the UE group identifier is not registered in the BSF network element, register the binding information including the UE group identifier and select a first PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE.

[0158] Generally, after receiving a registration request for a certain PDU session from a certain PCF network element, the BSF network element will select that PCF network element for the PDU session. However, in this application, after receiving a registration request for the PDU session of a certain UE carrying the UE group identifier from the first PCF network element, even though the registration request comes from the first PCF network element, since the registration request carries the UE group identifier (indicating that it is desired to select a common PCF network element for serving each UE of the UE group to which the UE belongs), the BSF network element will determine whether the first PCF network element can be used as the common PCF network element. Only when the first PCF network element can be used as the common PCF network element will the BSF network element select the first PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE.

[0159] The BSF network element may determine whether the first PCF network element can be used as the common PCF network element based on the registration status of the binding information.

[0160] For example, if the binding information including the UE group identifier is not registered in the BSF network element, it indicates that the BSF network element has not selected a PCF network element for the PDU session of any UE in the UE group. In this case, any PCF network element can be selected for the PDU session of the UE. Given that the registration request is sent by the first PCF network element, the first PCF network element can be used as the common PCF network element and selected for the PDU session of the UE. Therefore, the BSF network element will register the binding information including the UE group identifier and select the first PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE.

[0161] By implementing this embodiment, after receiving a registration request carrying the UE group identifier of the UE in the UE group from the PCF network element selected for the PDU session of the UE in the UE group, if the binding information including the UE group identifier is not registered in the BSF network element, the BSF network element selects the PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE.

[0162] Figure 10 The flowchart shows another method for selecting a PCF network element according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. This method is applied to the BSF network element and is based on the Figure 8 embodiment shown, as Figure 10 shown, this method may include but is not limited to the following steps:

[0163] Step S1001: Receive a registration request from the first PCF network element, where the registration request is related to the packet data unit (PDU) session of the UE in the user equipment (UE) group and includes the UE group identifier of the UE group.

[0164] Regarding the specific implementation details of the above step S1001, reference may be made to the relevant description of step S801 in the Figure 8 shown embodiment, and details will not be elaborated here.

[0165] Step S1002: Based on the registration request, select a common PCF network element that serves each UE in the UE group for the PDU session of the UE.

[0166] When receiving a registration request carrying the UE group identifier, the BSF network element will select a common PCF network element that serves each UE in the UE group for the PDU session of the UE based on the UE group identifier.

[0167] In some embodiments, the above step S1002 can be implemented through the following steps:

[0168] Step S10021: When the binding information including the UE group identifier is registered in the BSF network element and the PCF network element indicated in the registered binding information is the first PCF network element, select the first PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE.

[0169] In this application, after the BSF network element receives a registration request for a PDU session of a certain UE carried with a UE group identifier from the first PCF network element, even if the registration request comes from the first PCF network element, since the registration request carries a UE group identifier (which indicates that it is expected to select a common PCF network element that serves each UE of the UE group to which the UE belongs) for the PDU session of the UE, the BSF network element will determine whether the first PCF network element can be used as the common PCF network element. Only when the first PCF network element can be used as the common PCF network element, the BSF network element will select the first PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE.

[0170] The BSF network element can determine whether the first PCF network element can be used as the common PCF network element according to the registration status of the binding information.

[0171] For example, if the binding information including the UE group identifier has been registered in the BSF network element, which indicates that the BSF network element has selected a PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE in the UE group, then it can be determined according to the registered binding information whether the PCF network element (hereinafter referred to as the "selected PCF network element") that has been selected for the PDU session of the UE in the UE group is the first PCF network element. Usually, the information of the selected PCF network element will be recorded in the binding information. If the information of the selected PCF network element indicates that the selected PCF network element is the first PCF network element, which means that the common PCF network element that serves each UE in the UE group is the first PCF network element, then the first PCF network element can be selected for the PDU session of the UE.

[0172] By implementing this embodiment, after the BSF network element receives a registration request carried with the UE group identifier of the UE group from the PCF network element selected for the PDU session of the UE in the UE group, if the binding information including the UE group identifier has been registered in the BSF network element and the PCF network element specified in the registered binding information is this PCF network element, then select this PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE.

[0173] Figure 11 The flowchart shows another method for selecting a PCF network element according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. This method is applied to the BSF network element and is based on as Figure 8 shown in the embodiment, as Figure 11 shown, this method may include but is not limited to the following steps:

[0174] Step S1101: Receive a registration request from the first PCF network element, where the registration request is related to the packet data unit (PDU) session of the UE in the user equipment (UE) group and includes the UE group identifier of the UE group.

[0175] Regarding the specific implementation details of the above step S1101, reference can be made toFigure 8 The relevant description of step S801 in the illustrated embodiment will not be elaborated here.

[0176] Step S1102: Based on the registration request, select a common PCF network element for serving each UE within the UE group for the PDU session of the UE.

[0177] Upon receiving a registration request carrying the UE group identifier, the BSF network element will select a common PCF network element for serving each UE within the UE group for the PDU session of the UE based on the UE group identifier.

[0178] In some embodiments, the above step S1102 can be implemented through the following steps:

[0179] Step S11021: When the BSF network element has registered binding information including the UE group identifier and the PCF network element indicated in the registered binding information is not the first PCF network element, feedback the available PCF network element information to the first PCF network element, so that the first PCF network element can enable the SMF network element to reselect a common PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE by feeding back the available PCF network element information to the SMF network element, where the available PCF network element information is the relevant information of the PCF network element indicated in the registered binding information.

[0180] In this application, after the BSF network element receives a registration request for the PDU session of a certain UE carrying the UE group identifier from the first PCF network element, even if the registration request comes from the first PCF network element, but since the registration request carries the UE group identifier (which indicates that it is desired to select a common PCF network element for serving each UE of the UE group to which the UE belongs), the BSF network element will determine whether the first PCF network element can be used as the common PCF network element. Only when the first PCF network element can be used as the common PCF network element, the BSF network element will select the first PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE.

[0181] However, if the BSF network element determines that the first PCF network element cannot be used as the common PCF network element based on the UE group identifier, the BSF network element will not select the first PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE.

[0182] The BSF network element can determine whether the first PCF network element can be used as the common PCF network element according to the registration status of the binding information.

[0183] For example, if the binding information including the UE group identifier has been registered in the BSF network element, it indicates that the BSF network element has selected a PCF network element for the PDU session of the UEs in the UE group. Then, it can be determined whether the PCF network element (hereinafter referred to as the "selected PCF network element") that has been selected for the PDU session of the UEs in the UE group is the first PCF network element. Generally, the binding information records the information of the selected PCF network element. If the information of the selected PCF network element indicates that the selected PCF network element is not the first PCF network element, it means that the common PCF network element serving each UE in the UE group is not the first PCF network element. In this case, the first PCF network element should not be selected for the PDU session of the UE. In this situation, the common PCF network element serving each UE in the UE group is the PCF network element specified in the registered binding information. The BSF network element will feedback the available PCF network element information indicating the relevant information of the PCF network element specified in the registered binding information to the first PCF network element.

[0184] The first PCF network element receives the available PCF network element information from the BSF network element, which indicates that the first PCF network element is not suitable for serving the PDU session of the UE. That is to say, when the SMF network element selects a PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE, it fails to select a suitable PCF network element. In this case, the first PCF network element feeds back the available PCF network element information to the SMF network element so that the SMF network element can reselect a suitable PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE according to the available PCF network element information. Since the available PCF network element information is the relevant information of the common PCF network element, the SMF network element can select the common PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE according to the available PCF network element information, thus achieving the purpose of selecting the same PCF network element for the PDU session of each UE within the same group of UEs.

[0185] By implementing this embodiment, after the BSF network element receives a registration request carrying the UE group identifier of the UEs in the UE group from the PCF network element selected for the PDU session of the UEs in the UE group, if the binding information including the UE group identifier has been registered in the BSF network element and the selected PCF network element specified in the registered binding information is not this PCF network element, the BSF network element feeds back the available PCF network element information to this PCF network element for reselecting the PCF network element.

[0186] Figure 12 The flowchart shows another method for selecting a PCF network element according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. This method is applied to the BSF network element and is based on any one of the embodiments shown in Figures 8 - 11 As shown in Figure 12 shown, this method may include but is not limited to the following steps:

[0187] Step S1201: Receive a registration request from a first PCF network element, where the registration request is related to a packet data unit (PDU) session of a user equipment (UE) within a UE group and includes a UE group identifier of the UE group.

[0188] Regarding the specific implementation details of the above step S1201, reference can be made to the relevant description of step S801 in the embodiment shown in Figure 8 and will not be elaborated here.

[0189] Step S1202: Based on the registration request, select a common PCF network element for serving each UE within the UE group for the PDU session of the UE.

[0190] Upon receiving a registration request carrying the UE group identifier, the BSF network element will select a common PCF network element for serving each UE within the UE group for the PDU session of the UE based on the UE group identifier.

[0191] Regarding the specific implementation details of the above step S1202, reference can be made to the relevant descriptions of step S802 in the embodiment shown in Figure 8 step S902 in the embodiment shown in Figure 9 step S1002 in the embodiment shown in Figure 10 step S1102 in the embodiment shown in Figure 11 and will not be elaborated here.

[0192] Step S1203: When a policy request related to an application function (AF) session of a UE within the UE group carries the UE group identifier, select a common PCF network element for the AF session based on the UE group identifier.

[0193] In this embodiment, for an AF session of a UE belonging to the UE group, the AF network element will send a policy request to the BSF network element to select a suitable PCF network element to serve the AF session. If the policy request received by the BSF network element carries the UE group identifier of the UE group, it indicates that it is desired to select a common PCF network element for serving each UE within the UE group for the AF session. Therefore, the BSF network element will select the common PCF network element for the AF session.

[0194] By implementing this embodiment, after receiving a policy request carrying the UE group identifier of the UE group from the AF network element, the BSF network element selects a common PCF network element for the AF session of the UE to serve each UE within the UE group, thereby achieving the purpose of selecting the same PCF network element for each UE within the same UE group.

[0195] Figure 13The flowchart shows another method for selecting a PCF network element according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. This method is applied to an AF network element, as Figure 13 shown, and the method may include but is not limited to the following steps:

[0196] Step S1301, when initiating an AF session for a UE within a UE group, send a policy request carrying the UE group identifier of the UE group to the BSF network element, so that the BSF network element selects a common PCF network element for each UE in the UE group to serve the AF session of the UE based on the UE group identifier.

[0197] In this embodiment, for the AF session of a UE belonging to a UE group, the AF network element will send a policy request carrying the UE group identifier of the UE group to the BSF network element to select a common PCF network element for each UE in the UE group to serve the AF session. If the policy request received by the BSF network element carries the UE group identifier of the UE group, it indicates that it is desired to select a common PCF network element for each UE in the UE group to serve the AF session. Therefore, the BSF network element will select the common PCF network element for the AF session.

[0198] In some embodiments, the UE group identifier is stored in the user description of the UE in the user data repository UDR.

[0199] The UE group identifier of the UE group to which the UE belongs can be recorded in the user description of the UE stored in the UDR, so that any network device in need can obtain the UE group identifier of the UE group to which the UE belongs by querying the user description of the UE stored in the UDR. For example, when the AF network element determines that it is necessary to select a common PCF network element for each UE in the UE group to which the UE belongs to serve the AF session of the UE, it can obtain the UE group identifier by querying the user description of the UE stored in the UDR, and carry the UE group identifier in the policy request and send it to the BSF network element to request the selection of the common PCF network element for the AF session of the UE.

[0200] In some embodiments, the user description also indicates whether the UE has subscribed to a service that requires group policy coordination.

[0201] By implementing this embodiment, for the AF session of a UE belonging to a UE group, the AF network element will send a policy request carrying the UE group identifier of the UE group to the BSF network element, so that the BSF network element selects a common PCF network element for each UE in the UE group to serve the AF session of the UE, thereby achieving the purpose of selecting the same PCF network element for each UE in the same UE group.

[0202] In the above embodiments provided by the present application, the methods provided by the embodiments of the present application are introduced from the perspectives of different network devices. To implement each function in the methods provided by the above embodiments of the present application, a network device may include a hardware structure and software modules, and implement the above functions in the form of a hardware structure, software modules, or a combination of a hardware structure and software modules. A certain function among the above functions may be executed in the form of a hardware structure, software modules, or a combination of a hardware structure and software modules.

[0203] Corresponding to the PCF network element selection methods provided in the above several embodiments, the present disclosure also provides a PCF network element selection device. Since the PCF network element selection device provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure corresponds to the PCF network element selection methods provided in the above several embodiments, the implementation manners of the PCF network element selection methods are also applicable to the PCF network element selection device provided in this embodiment, and will not be described in detail in this embodiment. Figures 14 - 17 It is a schematic structural diagram of a joint channel estimation trigger device proposed according to the present disclosure.

[0204] Figure 14 It is a schematic structural diagram of a PCF network element selection device 1400 provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure. This device is applied to a first PCF network element.

[0205] As Figure 14 shown, the PCF network element selection device 1400 includes:

[0206] A determination module 1401, configured to determine whether to select a common PCF network element for serving each UE in the UE group for the PDU session of the UE when a received policy association creation request is related to the PDU session of the UE in the UE group; and

[0207] A sending module 1402, configured to request a binding support function (BSF) network element to select a PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE based on the result of determining whether to select the common PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE.

[0208] By implementing this embodiment, the PCF network element provides a PCF network element selection method for selecting the same PCF network element for each UE in the same UE group by determining whether to select the same PCF network element for each UE in the same UE group, thereby avoiding the interaction process between multiple PCF network elements serving the same UE group.

[0209] In some embodiments, the determination module 1401 is configured to: obtain a user description of the UE from a user data repository (UDR), where the user description indicates whether the UE has subscribed to a service that requires group policy coordination; and determine whether to select the common PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE according to the user description.

[0210] In some embodiments, the determining module 1401 is configured to: determine whether to select the common PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE based on the local policy in the first PCF network element, where the local policy indicates whether each UE belonging to the same UE group is served by the same PCF network element.

[0211] In some embodiments, the sending module 1402 is configured to: when the result indicates that the common PCF network element needs to be selected for the PDU session of the UE, request the BSF network element to select the common PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE.

[0212] In some embodiments, the sending module 1402 requests the BSF network element to select the common PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE in the following manner: sending a registration request associated with the PDU session of the UE to the BSF network element, so that the BSF network element selects the first PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE when determining that the first PCF network element can serve as the common PCF network element based on the registration request, where the registration request includes the UE group identifier of the UE group.

[0213] In some embodiments, the conditions for the first PCF network element to be able to serve as the common PCF network element include one of the following: there is no bound information including the UE group identifier registered in the BSF network element; and there is bound information including the UE group identifier registered in the BSF network element and the PCF network element indicated in the registered bound information is the first PCF network element.

[0214] In some embodiments, as Figure 15 shown, the apparatus 1400 further includes a receiving module 1403, configured to receive the available PCF network element information fed back by the BSF network element, where the available PCF network element information is fed back when the BSF network element determines that the first PCF network element cannot serve as the common PCF network element based on the registration request and the available PCF network element information is the relevant information of the common PCF network element.

[0215] The sending module 1402 is further configured to: feed back the available PCF network element information to the session management function SMF network element, so that the SMF network element re-selects the common PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE based on the available PCF network element information.

[0216] In some embodiments, the conditions under which the first PCF network element cannot serve as the common PCF network element include: the binding information including the UE group identifier has been registered in the BSF network element and the PCF network element indicated in the registered binding information is not the first PCF network element; wherein the common PCF network element is the PCF network element indicated in the registered binding information.

[0217] In some embodiments, the UE group identifier is obtained by querying the user description of the UE stored in the user data repository UDR.

[0218] In some embodiments, the sending module 1402 is configured to: when the result indicates that there is no need to select the common PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE, request the BSF network element to select the first PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE.

[0219] Figure 16 FIG. 1600 is a schematic structural diagram of another PCF network element selection apparatus provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure. This apparatus is applied to a BSF network element.

[0220] As Figure 16 shown, the PCF network element selection apparatus 1600 includes:

[0221] a receiving module 1601, configured to receive a registration request from a first PCF network element, where the registration request is related to a packet data unit PDU session of a UE within a UE group and includes the UE group identifier of the UE group; and

[0222] a registration module 1602, configured to select a PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE based on the registration request.

[0223] By implementing this embodiment, after receiving a registration request carrying the UE group identifier of the UE group from the PCF network element selected for the PDU session of the UE within the UE group, the BSF network element selects a common PCF network element that serves each UE within the UE group for the PDU session of the UE, thereby achieving the purpose of selecting the same PCF network element for each UE within the same UE group.

[0224] In some embodiments, the registration module 1602 is configured to: when the binding information including the UE group identifier is not registered in the BSF network element, register the binding information including the UE group identifier and select the first PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE.

[0225] In some embodiments, the registration module 1602 is configured to: when the binding information including the UE group identifier is already registered in the BSF network element and the PCF network element indicated in the registered binding information is the first PCF network element, select the first PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE.

[0226] In some embodiments, the registration module 1602 is configured to: when the binding information including the UE group identifier is already registered in the BSF network element and the PCF network element indicated in the registered binding information is not the first PCF network element, feedback the available PCF network element information to the first PCF network element, so that the first PCF network element can make the session management function SMF network element reselect the common PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE by feeding back the available PCF network element information to the SMF network element, where the available PCF network element information is the relevant information of the PCF network element indicated in the registered binding information.

[0227] In some embodiments, the registration module 1602 is configured to: when the policy request related to the application function AF session of the UE within the UE group carried in the received message carries the UE group identifier, select the common PCF network element for the AF session based on the UE group identifier.

[0228] Figure 17 FIG. 1700 is a schematic structural diagram of another PCF network element selection device provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure. This device is applied to an AF network element.

[0229] As Figure 17 shown, the PCF network element selection device 1700 includes:

[0230] A sending module 1701, configured to, when initiating an AF session for a UE within a user equipment UE group, send a policy request carrying the UE group identifier of the UE group to a binding support function BSF network element, so that the BSF network element selects a PCF network element for the AF session of the UE based on the policy request.

[0231] By implementing this embodiment, for the AF session of the UE belonging to the UE group, the AF network element sends a policy request carrying the UE group identifier of the UE group to the BSF network element, so that the BSF network element selects a common PCF network element serving each UE within the UE group for the AF session of the UE, thereby achieving the purpose of selecting the same PCF network element for each UE within the same UE group.

[0232] In some embodiments, the UE group identifier is stored in the user description of the UE in a user data repository UDR.

[0233] In some embodiments, the user description further indicates whether the UE has subscribed to services that require group policy coordination.

[0234] Please refer to Figure 18 , Figure 18 FIG. 1800 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device 1800 provided by an embodiment of the present application. The communication device 1800 may be a network device, a user equipment, a chip, a chip system, or a processor that supports the network device to implement the foregoing method, or may also be a chip, a chip system, or a processor that supports the terminal device to implement the foregoing method. The device may be used to implement the method described in the foregoing method embodiments, and specifically, reference may be made to the description in the foregoing method embodiments.

[0235] The communication device 1800 may include one or more processors 1801. The processor 1801 may be a general-purpose processor or a dedicated processor, etc. For example, it may be a baseband processor or a central processing unit. The baseband processor may be used to process communication protocols and communication data, and the central processing unit may be used to control the communication device (such as a base station, a baseband chip, a terminal device, a terminal device chip, a DU or a CU, etc.), execute computer programs, and process data of the computer programs.

[0236] Optionally, the communication device 1800 may further include one or more memories 1802, on which a computer program 1804 may be stored. The processor 1801 executes the computer program 1804 to cause the communication device 1800 to execute the method described in the foregoing method embodiments. Optionally, data may also be stored in the memory 1802. The communication device 1800 and the memory 1802 may be provided separately or integrated together.

[0237] Optionally, the communication device 1800 may further include a transceiver 1805 and an antenna 1806. The transceiver 1805 may be referred to as a transceiver unit, a transceiver, or a transceiver circuit, etc., and is used to implement transceiver functions. The transceiver 1805 may include a receiver and a transmitter. The receiver may be referred to as a receiver or a receiving circuit, etc., and is used to implement receiving functions; the transmitter may be referred to as a transmitter or a transmitting circuit, etc., and is used to implement transmitting functions.

[0238] Optionally, the communication device 1800 may further include one or more interface circuits 1807. The interface circuit 1807 is used to receive code instructions and transmit them to the processor 1801. The processor 1801 runs the code instructions to cause the communication device 1800 to execute the method described in the foregoing method embodiments.

[0239] When the communication device 1800 is a network device, such as a PCF network element: the processor 1801 is used to execute Figure 1 step S101 in Figure 2Step S2012 in Figure 3 Step S3011 in Figure 4 Step S401 in Figure 5 Step S501 in Figure 6 Step S601 in Figure 7 Step S701. The transceiver 1805 is used to execute Figure 1 Step S102 in Figure 2 Steps S2011, S202 in Figure 3 Step S302 in Figure 4 S4021 in Figure 5 Step S50211 in Figure 6 Steps S60211 - S60213 in Figure 7 Step S7021.

[0240] When the communication device 1800 is a network device, such as a BSF network element: The processor 1801 is used to execute Figure 8 Step S802 in Figure 9 Step S9021 in Figure 10 Step S10021 in Figure 11 Step S11021 in Figure 12 Steps S1202 - S1203. The transceiver 1805 is used to execute Figure 8 Step S801 in Figure 9 Step S901 in Figure 10 Step S1001 in Figure 11 S1101 in Figure 12 Step S1201.

[0241] When the communication device 1800 is a network device, such as an AF network element: The transceiver 1805 is used to execute Figure 13 Step S1301.

[0242] In one implementation, the processor 1801 may include a transceiver for implementing reception and transmission functions. For example, the transceiver may be a transceiver circuit, or an interface, or an interface circuit. The transceiver circuit, interface, or interface circuit for implementing reception and transmission functions may be separate or integrated together. The above-mentioned transceiver circuit, interface, or interface circuit may be used for reading and writing code / data, or the above-mentioned transceiver circuit, interface, or interface circuit may be used for signal transmission or transfer.

[0243] In one implementation, the processor 1801 may store a computer program 1803, which runs on the processor 1801 and enables the communication device 1800 to perform the method described in the above method embodiment. The computer program 1803 may be fixed in the processor 1801, in which case the processor 1801 may be implemented by hardware.

[0244] In one implementation, the communication device 1800 may include a circuit that can implement the functions of sending or receiving or communicating in the aforementioned method embodiments. The processor and transceiver described in the present application can be implemented in an integrated circuit (IC), an analog IC, a radio frequency integrated circuit RFIC, a mixed signal IC, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a printed circuit board (PCB), an electronic device, etc. The processor and transceiver can also be manufactured using various IC process technologies, such as complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS), N-type metal oxide semiconductor (nMetal-oxide-semiconductor, NMOS), P-type metal oxide semiconductor (positive channelmetal oxide semiconductor, PMOS), bipolar junction transistor (bipolar junction transistor, BJT), bipolar CMOS (BiCMOS), silicon germanium (SiGe), gallium arsenide (GaAs), etc.

[0245] The communication device described in the above embodiments may be a network device or a terminal device (such as the first terminal device in the above method embodiment), but the scope of the communication device described in this application is not limited thereto, and the structure of the communication device may not be limited thereto. Figure 18 The communication device may be an independent device or may be part of a larger device. For example, the communication device may be:

[0246] (1) Independent integrated circuit IC, or chip, or chip system or subsystem;

[0247] (2) having a set of one or more ICs, and optionally, the IC set may also include a storage component for storing data and computer programs;

[0248] (3) ASIC, such as modem;

[0249] (4) Modules that can be embedded in other devices;

[0250] (5) Receivers, terminal devices, intelligent terminal devices, cellular phones, wireless devices, handsets, mobile units, in-vehicle devices, network devices, cloud devices, artificial intelligence devices, etc.;

[0251] (6) Others, etc.

[0252] For the case where the communication device is a chip or a chip system, reference can be made to Figure 19 the structural schematic diagram of the chip shown. Figure 19 The chip shown includes a processor 1901 and an interface 1902. Among them, the number of processors 1901 can be one or more, and the number of interfaces 1902 can be multiple.

[0253] For the case where the chip is used to implement the functions of a network device, such as a PCF network element, in an embodiment of the present application: The processor 1901 is used to execute Figure 1 step S101 in Figure 2 step S2012 in Figure 3 step S3011 in Figure 4 step S401 in Figure 5 step S501 in Figure 6 step S601 in Figure 7 step S701 in . The processor 1901 is used to execute through the interface 1902 Figure 1 step S102 in Figure 2 steps S2011, S202 in Figure 3 step S302 in Figure 4 S4021 in Figure 5 step S50211 in Figure 6 steps S60211 - S60213 in Figure 7 step S7021 in .

[0254] For the case where the chip is used to implement the functions of a network device, such as a BSF network element, in an embodiment of the present application: The processor 1901 is used to execute Figure 8 step S802 in Figure 9 step S9021 in Figure 10 step S10021 in Figure 11 step S11021 in Figure 12 steps S1202 - S1203 in . The processor 1901 is used to execute through the interface 1902 Figure 8 step S801 in Figure 9 step S901 in Figure 10 step S1001 in Figure 11 S1101 inFigure 12 Step S1201 in

[0255] For the case where the chip is used to implement the functions of the network device in the embodiments of the present application, such as the AF network element: The processor 1901 is used to execute through the interface 1902 Figure 13 Step S1301 in

[0256] Optionally, the chip further includes a memory 1903, and the memory 1903 is used to store necessary computer programs and data.

[0257] Those skilled in the art can also understand that the various illustrative logical blocks and steps listed in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented by electronic hardware, computer software, or a combination of both. Whether such a function is implemented by hardware or software depends on the specific application and the design requirements of the entire system. For each specific application, those skilled in the art can use various methods to implement the described function, but such implementation should not be construed as exceeding the scope protected by the embodiments of the present application.

[0258] The embodiments of the present application further provide a system for implementing PCF network element selection. The system includes any combination of the communication devices as the PCF network element in the foregoing Figures 14 - 15 embodiments, the communication devices as the BSF network element in the foregoing Figure 16 embodiments, and the communication devices as the AF network element in the foregoing Figure 17 embodiments, or the system includes the communication devices as the network device in the foregoing Figure 18 embodiments.

[0259] The present application also provides a readable storage medium, on which instructions are stored, and when the instructions are executed by a computer, the functions of any of the foregoing method embodiments are implemented.

[0260] The present application also provides a computer program product, and when the computer program product is executed by a computer, the functions of any of the foregoing method embodiments are implemented.

[0261] In the above embodiments, it can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer programs. When the computer program is loaded and executed on a computer, the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are generated in whole or in part. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable devices. The computer program can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer program can be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via wired (such as coaxial cable, fiber optic, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (such as infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) means. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that a computer can access or a data storage device such as a server or data center that includes one or more integrated available media. The available medium can be a magnetic medium (such as a floppy disk, hard disk, magnetic tape), an optical medium (such as a high-density digital video disc (DVD)), or a semiconductor medium (such as a solid state disk (SSD)), etc.

[0262] Those of ordinary skill in the art can understand that the various numerical numbers such as the first and second involved in the present application are only for the convenience of description and are not used to limit the scope of the embodiments of the present application, nor do they represent the order of precedence.

[0263] At least one in the present application can also be described as one or more. The plurality can be two, three, four, or more, and the present application does not make any restrictions. In the embodiments of the present application, for a technical feature, the technical features in this technical feature are distinguished by "first", "second", "third", "A", "B", "C", and "D", etc. There is no order of precedence or size order among the technical features described by the "first", "second", "third", "A", "B", "C", and "D".

[0264] As used herein, the terms "machine-readable medium" and "computer-readable medium" refer to any computer program product, device, and / or apparatus (such as a disk, optical disc, memory, programmable logic device (PLD)) for providing machine instructions and / or data to a programmable processor, including a machine-readable medium that receives machine instructions as a machine-readable signal. The term "machine-readable signal" refers to any signal for providing machine instructions and / or data to a programmable processor.

[0265] The systems and techniques described herein can be implemented in a computing system including backend components (e.g., as a data server), or a computing system including middleware components (e.g., an application server), or a computing system including frontend components (e.g., a user computer having a graphical user interface or a web browser through which a user can interact with an implementation of the systems and techniques described herein), or a computing system including any combination of such backend components, middleware components, or frontend components. The components of the system can be interconnected to each other by digital data communication in any form or medium (e.g., a communication network). Examples of communication networks include: local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN), and the Internet.

[0266] A computer system can include a client and a server. The client and the server are generally far from each other and typically interact through a communication network. The client - server relationship is created by computer programs running on the respective computers and having a client - server relationship with each other.

[0267] It should be understood that the various forms of the processes shown above can be reordered, steps added, or steps deleted. For example, the steps described in this disclosure can be executed in parallel, sequentially, or in a different order, as long as the desired results of the technical solutions disclosed in this disclosure can be achieved. There is no limitation herein.

[0268] Those of ordinary skill in the art can realize that the units and algorithm steps of the examples described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or in a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are executed in a hardware or software manner depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. A professional technician can use different methods for each specific application to implement the described functions, but such implementation should not be considered to exceed the scope of this application.

[0269] Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the systems, devices, and units described above can refer to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments and will not be elaborated herein.

[0270] As described above, the above are only specific implementation manners of this application, but the protection scope of this application is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art can easily think of changes or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed in this application, and all such changes or substitutions should be covered by the protection scope of this application. Therefore, the protection scope of this application should be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A method for selecting a Policy Control Function (PCF) network element, characterized in that, the method is applied to a first PCF network element, and the method includes: when a received policy association creation request is related to a Packet Data Unit (PDU) session of a User Equipment (UE) within a UE group, determining whether to select a common PCF network element that serves each UE in the UE group for the PDU session of the UE; and based on the result of determining whether to select the common PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE, requesting a Binding Support Function (BSF) network element to select a PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, the determining whether to select a common PCF network element that serves each UE in the UE group for the PDU session of the UE includes: obtaining a user description of the UE from a User Data Repository (UDR), where the user description indicates whether the UE has subscribed to a service that requires group policy coordination; and determining whether to select the common PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE according to the user description.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, the determining whether to select a common PCF network element that serves each UE in the UE group for the PDU session of the UE includes: determining whether to select the common PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE based on a local policy in the first PCF network element, where the local policy indicates whether the same PCF network element serves each UE belonging to the same UE group.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 - 3, characterized in that, the requesting a Binding Support Function (BSF) network element to select a PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE based on the result of determining whether to select the common PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE includes: when the result indicates that the common PCF network element needs to be selected for the PDU session of the UE, requesting the BSF network element to select the common PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that, the requesting the BSF network element to select the common PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE includes: sending a registration request associated with the PDU session of the UE to the BSF network element, where the registration request includes a UE group identifier of the UE group.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that, it further includes: receiving available PCF network element information feedback by the BSF network element, where the available PCF network element information is feedback when the BSF network element determines that the first PCF network element cannot be used as the common PCF network element based on the registration request and the available PCF network element information is information related to the common PCF network element; and feeding back the available PCF network element information to a Session Management Function (SMF) network element.

7. The method according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that, the UE group identifier is obtained by querying the user description of the UE stored in a User Data Repository (UDR).

8. The method according to any one of claims 1-3, wherein, requesting, from a binding support function (BSF) network element, to select a policy control function (PCF) network element for a PDU session of the UE based on a result of determining whether to select the common PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE includes: when the result indicates that there is no need to select the common PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE, requesting the BSF network element to select the first PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE.

9. A method for selecting a policy control function (PCF) network element, wherein, the method is applied to a binding support function (BSF) network element, and the method includes: receiving a registration request from a first PCF network element, where the registration request is related to a packet data unit (PDU) session of a user equipment (UE) within a UE group and includes a UE group identifier of the UE group; and selecting, based on the registration request, a common PCF network element that serves each UE in the UE group for the PDU session of the UE.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein, selecting, based on the registration request, a common PCF network element that serves each UE in the UE group for the PDU session of the UE includes: when there is no registered binding information including the UE group identifier in the BSF network element, registering the binding information including the UE group identifier and selecting the first PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE.

11. The method according to claim 9, wherein, selecting, based on the registration request, a common PCF network element that serves each UE in the UE group for the PDU session of the UE includes: when there is already registered binding information including the UE group identifier in the BSF network element and the PCF network element indicated in the registered binding information is the first PCF network element, selecting the first PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE.

12. The method according to claim 9, wherein, selecting, based on the registration request, a common PCF network element that serves each UE in the UE group for the PDU session of the UE includes: when there is already registered binding information including the UE group identifier in the BSF network element and the PCF network element indicated in the registered binding information is not the first PCF network element, feeding back available PCF network element information to the first PCF network element, where the available PCF network element information is information related to the PCF network element indicated in the registered binding information.

13. The method according to any one of claims 9-12, wherein, further includes: when a policy request related to an application function (AF) session of a UE within the UE group carried in a received message carries the UE group identifier, selecting the common PCF network element for the AF session based on the UE group identifier.

14. A method for selecting a policy control function (PCF) network element, wherein, the method is applied to an application function (AF) network element, and the method includes: When initiating an AF session for a UE within a UE group, a policy request carrying the UE group identifier of the UE group is sent to a Binding Support Function (BSF) network element. The UE group identifier is used for the BSF network element to select, based on the UE group identifier, a common Policy Control Function (PCF) network element that serves each UE in the UE group for the AF session of the UE.

15. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that the UE group identifier is stored in the user description of the UE in a User Data Repository (UDR).

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that the user description further indicates whether the UE has subscribed to a service that requires group policy coordination.

17. A device for selecting a Policy Control Function (PCF) network element, characterized in that the device is applied to a first PCF network element, and the device includes: a determination module, configured to determine whether to select, for the PDU session of the UE, a common PCF network element that serves each UE in the UE group when a received policy association creation request is related to the PDU session of a UE within a UE group; and a sending module, configured to request, based on the result of determining whether to select the common PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE, the BSF network element to select a PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE.

18. The device according to claim 17, characterized in that the determination module is configured to: obtain the user description of the UE from a User Data Repository (UDR), where the user description indicates whether the UE has subscribed to a service that requires group policy coordination; and determine whether to select the common PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE according to the user description.

19. The device according to claim 17, characterized in that the determination module is configured to: determine whether to select the common PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE based on the local policy in the first PCF network element, where the local policy indicates whether the same PCF network element serves each UE belonging to the same UE group.

20. The device according to any one of claims 17 - 19, characterized in that the sending module is configured to: when the result indicates that the common PCF network element needs to be selected for the PDU session of the UE, request the BSF network element to select the common PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE.

21. The device according to claim 20, characterized in that the sending module is configured to: send a registration request associated with the PDU session of the UE to the BSF network element, where the registration request includes the UE group identifier of the UE group.

22. The device according to claim 21, characterized in that it further includes: a receiving module, configured to receive available PCF network element information fed back by the BSF network element, where the available PCF network element information is fed back when the BSF network element determines that the first PCF network element cannot be used as the common PCF network element and the available PCF network element information is information related to the common PCF network element; The sending module is further configured to feedback the available PCF network element information to a session management function (SMF) network element.

23. The apparatus according to any one of claims 17-19, wherein, the sending module is configured to: when the result indicates that there is no need to select the common PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE, request the BSF network element to select the first PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE.

24. A policy control function (PCF) network element selection apparatus, wherein, the apparatus is applied to a binding support function (BSF) network element, and the apparatus includes: a receiving module, configured to receive a registration request from a first PCF network element, where the registration request is related to a packet data unit (PDU) session of a user equipment (UE) in a UE group and includes a UE group identifier of the UE group; and a registration module, configured to select, based on the registration request, a common PCF network element that serves each UE in the UE group for the PDU session of the UE.

25. The apparatus according to claim 24, wherein, the registration module is configured to: when the binding information including the UE group identifier is not registered in the BSF network element, register the binding information including the UE group identifier and select the first PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE.

26. The apparatus according to claim 24, wherein, the registration module is configured to: when the binding information including the UE group identifier is already registered in the BSF network element and the PCF network element indicated in the registered binding information is the first PCF network element, select the first PCF network element for the PDU session of the UE.

27. The apparatus according to claim 24, wherein, the registration module is configured to: when the binding information including the UE group identifier is already registered in the BSF network element and the PCF network element indicated in the registered binding information is not the first PCF network element, feedback available PCF network element information to the first PCF network element, where the available PCF network element information is information related to the PCF network element indicated in the registered binding information.

28. The apparatus according to any one of claims 24-27, wherein, the registration module is configured to: when a policy request related to an application function (AF) session of a UE in the UE group carries the UE group identifier, select the common PCF network element for the AF session based on the UE group identifier.

29. A policy control function (PCF) network element selection apparatus, wherein, the apparatus is applied to an application function (AF) network element, and the apparatus includes: a sending module, configured to send, when initiating an AF session for a user equipment (UE) in a UE group, a policy request carrying the UE group identifier of the UE group to a binding support function (BSF) network element, so that the BSF network element selects, based on the UE group identifier, a common PCF network element that serves each UE in the UE group for the AF session of the UE.

30. A communication device, wherein, it includes: a transceiver; a memory; A processor, which is respectively connected to the transceiver and the memory, is configured to control the wireless signal transceiver of the transceiver by executing computer-executable instructions on the memory, and is capable of implementing the method according to any one of claims 1-8.

31. A communication device, wherein, it includes: a transceiver; a memory; A processor, which is respectively connected to the transceiver and the memory, is configured to control the wireless signal transceiver of the transceiver by executing computer-executable instructions on the memory, and is capable of implementing the method according to any one of claims 9-13.

32. A communication device, wherein, it includes: a transceiver; a memory; A processor, which is respectively connected to the transceiver and the memory, is configured to control the wireless signal transceiver of the transceiver by executing computer-executable instructions on the memory, and is capable of implementing the method according to any one of claims 14-16.

33. A computer storage medium, wherein, the computer storage medium stores computer-executable instructions; after being executed by a processor, the computer-executable instructions are capable of implementing the method according to any one of claims 1-8.

34. A computer storage medium, wherein, the computer storage medium stores computer-executable instructions; after being executed by a processor, the computer-executable instructions are capable of implementing the method according to any one of claims 9-13.

35. A computer storage medium, wherein, the computer storage medium stores computer-executable instructions; after being executed by a processor, the computer-executable instructions are capable of implementing the method according to any one of claims 14-16.

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