Local network traffic offloading methods, devices, network systems and storage media

Abstract

This disclosure provides a local network offloading method, apparatus, network device, and computer-readable storage medium, relating to network communication technology. The local network offloading method includes: a user terminal (UE) sending an initial registration request; a radio access network (RAN) sending the initial registration request to an initial Active Data Provider (AMF); the initial AMF selecting a Unified Data Management Device (UDM) according to a registration mechanism, triggering a Nudm_SDM_Get service operation to request the UE's slice subscription data from the UDM; the initial AMF determining, based on the slice subscription data, that it cannot provide service to the subscribed S-NSSAI; the NSSF performing slice selection based on a preset policy and feeding back the first slice selection result to the initial AMF; and the initial AMF determining, based on the first slice selection result, a local AMF capable of providing service to the UE, and rerouting the initial registration request to the local AMF so that the local AMF can adapt to the slice the UE wishes to connect to. Through the technical solution of this disclosure, when local service capabilities are incomplete, the UE can be connected to a mature non-local network slice, providing comprehensive service to the user terminal (UE).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to network communication technology, and more particularly to a local network traffic offloading method, apparatus, network system, and computer-readable storage medium. Background Technology

[0002] 5G networks can use network slicing technology to divide a single physical network into multiple logical networks. This not only solves the problem of traditional mobile communication network architecture's "one size fits all" approach, which makes it difficult to meet diverse needs, but also enables low-cost private logical networks, thus avoiding the need to build a dedicated physical network for each service.

[0003] Since network slicing is essentially "network granularity," a certain session service of a user terminal UE can only be completed within a certain slice. In other words, the service cannot be completed "across networks." When the slice corresponding to the service that the user terminal UE wants to use belongs to the Rejected NSSAI (slice that rejects UE access) decided by the currently registered network, the service will not be accepted.

[0004] It should be noted that the information disclosed in the background section above is only used to enhance the understanding of the background of this disclosure, and therefore may include information that does not constitute prior art known to those skilled in the art. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The purpose of this disclosure is to provide a local network offloading method, apparatus, network system, and computer-readable storage medium that can, at least to a certain extent, connect to a mature non-local network slice when local service capabilities are inadequate, thereby providing complete services to the user terminal (UE).

[0006] Other features and advantages of this disclosure will become apparent from the following detailed description, or may be learned in part from practice of this disclosure.

[0007] According to one aspect of this disclosure, a local network offloading method is provided, comprising: a user terminal (UE) sending an initial registration request to a radio access network (RAN) of the 5G network; the RAN sending the initial registration request to an initial AMF; the initial AMF selecting a unified data management unit (UDM) according to a registration mechanism, triggering a Nudm_SDM_Get service operation to request slice subscription data of the UE from the UDM; the UDM feeding back the slice subscription data to the initial AMF; the initial AMF determining, based on the slice subscription data, that it cannot provide service for the subscribed S-NSSAI, and sending Nnssf_NSSelection_Get information to the network slice selection unit (NSSF); the NSSF performing slice selection based on a preset policy and feeding back a first slice selection result to the initial AMF; the initial AMF determining, based on the first slice selection result, a local AMF capable of providing service to the UE, and rerouting the initial registration request to the local AMF so that the local AMF can adapt the slice that the UE wishes to connect to, wherein the slice includes cross-connection services between local network slices and non-local network slices.

[0008] In one embodiment, the initial registration request includes a Requested NSSAI. The initial AMF determines a local AMF capable of providing services to the UE based on the first slice selection result, and redirects the initial registration request to the local AMF. Specifically, when the local AMF determines that the Requested NSSAI contains some non-locally acceptable S-NSSAIs, the local AMF initiates a bridging request for the non-local network slice to the initial AMF based on the non-locally acceptable S-NSSAIs. The initial AMF executes a standard slice selection procedure based on the bridging request, determines a target AMF to handle the UE's service request, and returns the selection result of the non-local network slice to the local AMF for local network service offloading based on the selection result of the non-local network slice.

[0009] In one embodiment, the local AMF initiates a cross-connection request for the non-local network slice to the initial AMF based on the non-locally acceptable S-NSSAI, specifically including: when the local AMF determines that the RequestedNSSAI includes some non-locally acceptable S-NSSAI, the local AMF initiates the cross-connection request to the initial AMF based on the non-locally acceptable S-NSSAI and calls the full protocol stack Proxy.

[0010] In one embodiment, before the local AMF initiates the bridging request to the initial AMF based on the non-locally acceptable S-NSSAI and calls the full protocol stack Proxy, the method further includes: the local AMF creating a virtual user for the UE on the Unified Data Management UDM and / or Unified Data Warehouse UDR, and assigning a virtual identifier for the UE to the virtual user, so as to generate the bridging request based on the virtual identifier.

[0011] In one embodiment, the initial AMF performs a standard slice selection procedure based on the bridging request and determines a target AMF so that the target AMF can handle the UE's service request. Specifically, this includes: the initial AMF performing a judgment operation on the bridging request based on the standard slice selection mechanism; the initial AMF selecting the Unified Data Management (UDM) for the bridging request based on the judgment operation, triggering the Nudm_SDM_Get service operation to request the UE's slice selection subscription data from the UDM; the UDM feeding back the slice selection subscription data to the initial AMF; and if the initial AMF cannot subscribe to the S-NSSA... When UE provides services, it sends the Nnssf_NSSelection_Get information to the NSSF. The NSSF performs slice selection and returns the second slice selection result to the initial AMF. The initial AMF performs a query operation based on the second slice selection result, querying the Network Data Repository (NRF) to find the target AMF with NF capability to provide services to the UE. The NRF returns a list including the target AMF to the initial AMF based on the query operation. The initial AMF reroutes the bridging request to the target AMF based on the list, and the target AMF provides bridging slice services to the UE.

[0012] In one embodiment, the initial AMF performs a standard slice selection procedure based on the bridging request and determines a target AMF so that the target AMF can accept the UE's service request. The method also includes: the local AMF calling a full protocol stack proxy to establish a bidirectional interface with the target network user plane UPF and the radio access network RAN ​​to perform network bridging and traffic splitting operations between the non-local network slice and the local network slice based on the bidirectional interface.

[0013] According to a second aspect of this disclosure, a local network traffic offloading device is provided, comprising: a user terminal (UE) configured to send an initial registration request to a radio access network (RAN) of the 5G network; a RAN configured to send the initial registration request to an initial AMF; an initial AMF configured to select a unified data management unit (UDM) according to a registration mechanism and trigger a Nudm_SDM_Get service operation to request slice subscription data of the UE from the UDM; the UDM is further configured to: feed back the slice subscription data to the initial AMF; and the initial AMF is further configured to: determine, based on the slice subscription data, that it cannot provide services for the subscribed S-NSSAI. The local network traffic splitting device further includes: a network slice selection NSSF, used to perform slice selection based on a preset policy and feed back the first slice selection result to the initial AMF; the initial AMF is further used to: determine a local AMF that can provide services to the UE based on the first slice selection result, and redirect the initial registration request to the local AMF; the local network traffic splitting device further includes: a local AMF, used to adapt the slice that the UE expects to connect to, wherein the slice includes crossover services between local network slices and non-local network slices.

[0014] According to a third aspect of this disclosure, a network system is provided, comprising: a processor; and a memory for storing executable instructions of the processor; wherein the processor is configured to execute the local network offloading method of any of the above via executing the executable instructions.

[0015] According to a fourth aspect of this disclosure, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, on which a computer program is stored, which, when executed by a processor, implements the local network traffic offloading method described above.

[0016] The local network offloading scheme provided in the embodiments of this disclosure involves the Radio Access Network (RAN) sending the initial registration request sent by the User Terminal (UE) to the Initial AMF. The Initial AMF then requests slice subscription data for the UE based on the initial registration request. When the Initial AMF detects that the slice subscription data contains data that cannot provide services for the subscribed S-NSSAI, it indicates that the current local network slice cannot meet the UE's service requirements. At this time, based on the first slice selection result of the network slice selected by the NSSF for the UE, the local AMF that can provide services for the subscribed S-NSSAI is determined, and the initial registration request is redirected to the local AMF. This enables the local AMF to adapt local network slices and cross-connected non-local network slices. By adapting to the cross-connected non-local network slices, the UE is allowed to use non-local configured slice services. On the one hand, this makes the requested slice services richer and more flexible. On the other hand, it allows the dedicated 5G network to cross-connect to mature non-local network slices when local service capabilities are incomplete, thus providing complete services for the User Terminal (UE).

[0017] It should be understood that the above general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only, and are not intended to limit this disclosure. Attached Figure Description

[0018] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and form part of this specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with this disclosure and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of this disclosure. It is obvious that the drawings described below are merely some embodiments of this disclosure, and those skilled in the art can obtain other drawings based on these drawings without any inventive effort.

[0019] Figure 1 This diagram illustrates a flowchart of a local network traffic splitting method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0020] Figure 2 A flowchart illustrating another local network traffic splitting method in an embodiment of this disclosure is shown;

[0021] Figure 3 A flowchart illustrating another local network traffic splitting method in an embodiment of this disclosure is shown;

[0022] Figure 4 This diagram illustrates a structural diagram of yet another local network traffic splitting method according to an embodiment of this disclosure;

[0023] Figure 5 A flowchart illustrating yet another local network traffic offloading method according to an embodiment of this disclosure is shown;

[0024] Figure 6 A flowchart illustrating yet another local network traffic offloading method according to an embodiment of this disclosure is shown;

[0025] Figure 7 A schematic diagram of a local network traffic splitting device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0026] Figure 8 A schematic diagram of another local network traffic splitting device is shown in an embodiment of this disclosure. Detailed Implementation

[0027] Exemplary embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, these exemplary embodiments can be implemented in many forms and should not be construed as limited to the examples set forth herein; rather, they are provided so that this disclosure will be more comprehensive and complete, and will fully convey the concept of the exemplary embodiments to those skilled in the art. The described features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments.

[0028] Furthermore, the accompanying drawings are merely illustrative of this disclosure and are not necessarily drawn to scale. The same reference numerals in the drawings denote the same or similar parts, and therefore repeated descriptions of them will be omitted. Some block diagrams shown in the drawings are functional entities and do not necessarily correspond to physically or logically independent entities. These functional entities may be implemented in software, in one or more hardware modules or integrated circuits, or in different network and / or processor devices and / or microcontroller devices.

[0029] To facilitate understanding, the following is an explanation of several terms used in this application.

[0030] Network slicing is an on-demand networking approach that allows operators to separate multiple virtual end-to-end networks on a unified infrastructure. Each network slice is logically isolated from the radio access network to the bearer network and then to the core network to adapt to various types of applications. A network slice can be divided into at least three parts: radio network sub-slices, bearer network sub-slices, and core network sub-slices.

[0031] For 5G wireless networks, network slicing mainly involves admission control, network selection, and resource separation. The standard primarily uses the S-NSSAI (Single Network Slice Selection Assistance Information) parameter for identification.

[0032] In 5G communication systems, the Core Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) is responsible for terminal devices accessing the core network and managing mobility.

[0033] SST indicates the slice and service type of S-NSSAI, while SD is the composition and slice component of S-NSSAI parameter slices and service types.

[0034] S-NSSAI (Single Network Slice Selection Assistance Information) uniquely identifies a network slice, while NSSAI is a collection of S-NSSAIs that identifies a group of network slices. NSSAI plays a crucial role in the slice selection process. Based on its storage location and function, NSSAI can be categorized as follows:

[0035] Subscribed S-NSSAIs: Subscribed to S-NSSAI, which is user-owned subscription data.

[0036] Default S-NSSAI: The default S-NSSAI is one or more of the user's subscribed S-NSSAIs that may be set as the default S-NSSAI, depending on the operator's policy. If the user terminal UE does not carry the Allowed NSSAI in the Registration Request message, the network will use the default S-NSSAI to provide services to the user terminal UE if the default S-NSSAI exists.

[0037] Requested NSSAI: This is a request for NSSAI generated by the UE based on the Configured NSSAI and Allowed NSSAI. It can be carried in the RRC and NAS layer messages of the initial registration message, indicating that the UE requests the NSSAI to be used in this registration.

[0038] Allowed NSSAI: The NSSAI that allows the UE to access the current registered area. It is calculated and generated by NSSF (slice selection function) based on Requested NSSAI, Subscribed NSSAI and related policies, and then transmitted to AMF and UE (in some scenarios, it can also be directly generated by AMF) and stored in UE and AMF.

[0039] Rejected NSSAI: Slice access denied to the UE. For slices not supported by the PLMN (Public Land Mobile Network), the UE can no longer access the PLMN; for slices not supported by the current registration area, the UE can no longer access the PLMN until it leaves the current registration area.

[0040] Configured NSSAI: The NSSAI pre-configured in the UE. This NSSAI can also be generated and distributed to the UE by NSSF or AMF. It is mainly used to generate the Requested NSSAI used during initial registration.

[0041] In addition, the network element functional entity (NF) in the 5G network system architecture used in this application is as follows:

[0042] UE: User Equipment (UE).

[0043] RAN: Radio Access Network (RAN).

[0044] AMF: Access and Mobility Management Function.

[0045] UPF: User plane Function.

[0046] NRF: Network Data Repository Function.

[0047] NSSF: Network Slice Selection Function.

[0048] UDM: Unified Data Management.

[0049] UDR: Unified Data Repository.

[0050] The solutions provided in this application involve technologies such as communication networks, and are specifically illustrated through the following embodiments.

[0051] Figure 1 A flowchart of a local network traffic splitting method according to an embodiment of this disclosure is shown.

[0052] like Figure 1 As shown, the local network traffic offloading method implemented through the interaction between the user terminal (UE) and the 5G network includes the following steps:

[0053] In step S102, the user terminal (UE) sends an initial registration request to the radio access network (RAN) of the 5G network.

[0054] The 5G network mainly consists of two subsystems: the Radio Access Network (RAN) and the Mobile Core Network.

[0055] In step S104, the Radio Access Network (RAN) sends an initial registration request to the Initial AMF.

[0056] In step S106, the initial AMF selects the Unified Data Management UDM according to the registration mechanism and triggers the Nudm_SDM_Get service operation to request the slice subscription data of the user terminal UE from the UDM.

[0057] In step S108, the UDM feeds back the slice contract data to the initial AMF.

[0058] In step S110, the initial AMF determines that it cannot provide services to the signed S-NSSAI(s) based on the slice subscription data, and sends Nnssf_NSSelection_Get information to the network slice selection NSSF.

[0059] Specifically, the initial registration request may include Requested NSSAI. If the Requested NSSAI includes some non-locally acceptable S-NSSAIs, i.e., it is determined that services cannot be provided for the signed S-NSSAI(s), then a non-local network slice bridging request needs to be initiated based on the non-locally acceptable S-NSSAIs.

[0060] In step S112, the NSSF performs slice selection based on a preset strategy and feeds back the first slice selection result to the initial AMF.

[0061] Step S114: The initial AMF determines the local AMF that can provide services to the UE based on the first slice selection result, and redirects the initial registration request to the local AMF so that the local AMF can adapt the slice that the UE wants to connect to. The slice includes crossover services between local network slices and non-local network slices.

[0062] Specifically, the initial AMF can redirect the local AMF according to the slice selection strategy so that the local AMF can adapt to the network slice that the UE wants to connect to.

[0063] In this embodiment, the Radio Access Network (RAN) sends the initial registration request from the User Terminal (UE) to the Initial AMF. The Initial AMF then requests slice subscription data for the UE based on the initial registration request. When the Initial AMF detects that the slice subscription data cannot provide services for the subscribed S-NSSAI, it indicates that the current local network slice cannot meet the UE's service requirements. At this time, based on the first slice selection result of the network slice selected by the NSSF for the UE, the RAN determines the local AMF that can provide services for the subscribed S-NSSAI, and redirects the initial registration request to the local AMF. This enables the local AMF to adapt local network slices and cross-connected non-local network slices. By adapting to the cross-connected non-local network slices, the UE is allowed to use non-local configured slice services. On the one hand, this makes the requested slice services richer and more flexible. On the other hand, it allows the dedicated 5G network to cross-connect to mature non-local network slices when local service capabilities are incomplete, thus providing complete services for the UE.

[0064] Specifically, this disclosure can be applied to enterprise 5G private network systems, enabling 5G private network agent terminals to initiate attach requests to public networks and use general services, which is a way for 5G private networks and public networks to provide collaborative services.

[0065] like Figure 2 As shown, in one embodiment, the initial registration request includes Requested NSSAI. In step S114, the initial AMF determines a local AMF capable of providing services to the UE based on the first slice selection result, and redirects the initial registration request to the local AMF. A specific implementation includes:

[0066] In step S202, when the local AMF determines that the Requested NSSAI contains some S-NSSAIs that are not locally acceptable, the local AMF initiates a cross-connection request for a non-local network slice to the initial AMF based on the non-locally acceptable S-NSSAIs.

[0067] Specifically, S-NSSAI that is not locally admissible can be understood as Rejected NSSAI.

[0068] In step S204, the initial AMF performs a standard slice selection procedure based on the bridging request and determines the target AMF so that the target AMF can accept the UE's service request. The selection result of the non-local network slice is returned to the local AMF so that the local network service offloading is performed based on the selection result of the non-local network slice.

[0069] Specifically, the standard slice selection process can be understood as follows: when a UE opens an account, it signs up for one or more S-NSSAIs on the core network, that is, it signs up for one or more slices. When the UE accesses the network, it will carry one or more signed slices. When there are multiple network slices, the network device can know the network slice that the UE wants to access based on the S-NSSAI. Based on the network slice that the UE wants to access, it determines the target AMF that can provide non-local network slices, and the target AMF accepts the UE's service request.

[0070] In this embodiment, if the local AMF determines that the Requested NSSAI contains an S-NSSAI that is not accepted locally, it initiates a bridging request to the initial AMF. The initial AMF determines a target AMF that can provide a non-local network slice based on the bridging request, so that the target AMF returns the selection result of the non-local network slice to the local AMF, thereby realizing the slice function of adapting the UE's desired connection by the local AMF.

[0071] like Figure 3 As shown, in one embodiment, one implementation of generating a bridging request includes:

[0072] Step S302: The local AMF creates a virtual user for the UE on the Unified Data Management UDM and / or Unified Data Warehouse UDR, and assigns a virtual identifier for the UE to the virtual user in order to generate a bridging request based on the virtual identifier.

[0073] In step S202, a specific implementation of the local AMF initiating a non-local network slice bridging request to the initial AMF based on the non-locally acceptable S-NSSAI includes:

[0074] In step S304, when the local AMF determines that the Requested NSSAI includes some S-NSSAIs that are not locally acceptable, the local AMF initiates a cross-connection request to the initial AMF based on the non-locally acceptable S-NSSAIs and calls the full protocol stack Proxy.

[0075] In this embodiment, the local AMF creates virtual users and assigns virtual identifiers to them. When local network service offloading is required, it generates a bridging request based on the virtual identifier and calls the full protocol stack Proxy to initiate a bridging request to the initial AMF. This is to distinguish the virtual identifier from the regular identifier already in use on the network, thereby ensuring the reliability of slice bridging.

[0076] In the process of creating a network slice, a unique identifier is assigned to each slice to ensure accurate location. This identifier allows for the unique identification of the network slice. Similarly, in the system, each user has a unique identifier. When creating a slice for a user, a relationship is established between the user's identifier and the slice's identifier, allowing the system to locate the slice to which the user has a contract.

[0077] In this embodiment, when a bridging operation for network slicing is detected, a pseudo account is created as a virtual account for the user terminal UE with a subscribed slice in the UDM / UDR, and an identifier different from the original conventional identifier is assigned to the virtual account, namely a virtual identifier. The virtual identifier includes another set of SUCI / SUPI and 5G-GUTI (5G-GUTI (5G Globally Unique Temporary UE Identity) etc.

[0078] Specifically, a regular identifier is used when the user terminal UE initially registers, while a virtual identifier is used when the local AMF full protocol stack proxy initiates a bridging request, in order to distinguish it from the regular identifier already used on the network, thus resolving the authentication issues that arise during the user terminal UE registration process.

[0079] like Figure 4 As shown, in one embodiment, in step S204, the initial AMF performs a standard slice selection procedure based on the bridging request and determines the target AMF. A specific implementation of this method, whereby the target AMF handles the UE's service request, includes:

[0080] Step S402: The initial AMF performs a judgment operation on the bridging request based on the standard slice selection mechanism.

[0081] In step S404, the initial AMF determines that the operation is a cross-connection request to select the Unified Data Management UDM, triggering the Nudm_SDM_Get service operation to request the UE's slice selection subscription data from the UDM.

[0082] Step S406: UDM feeds back slice selection contract data to the initial AMF.

[0083] In step S408, when the initial AMF is unable to provide services for the contracted S-NSSAI, it sends the Nnssf_NSSelection_Get message to the NSSF. The NSSF performs slice selection and returns the second slice selection result to the initial AMF.

[0084] In step S410, the initial AMF performs a query operation based on the second slice selection result, querying the network data repository NRF to find a target AMF with NF capability to provide services to the UE.

[0085] In step S412, the NRF feeds back a list of target AMFs to the initial AMF based on the query operation.

[0086] In step S414, the initial AMF redirects the bridging request to the target AMF based on the list, and the target AMF provides bridging slicing services to the UE.

[0087] As will be understood by those skilled in the art, the prerequisite for executing the registration signaling process is that the initial AMF and the target AMF need to pre-register their capabilities on the NRF.

[0088] In this embodiment, when a user terminal UE initiates an attach request, all slice requests of the user terminal UE are redirected to the local AMF according to the policy. The locally deployed slices provide service capabilities according to the standard process, while the non-locally deployed slices are initiated by the local AMF full protocol stack Proxy to make cross-connect requests.

[0089] like Figure 5 As shown, in one embodiment, in step S204, the initial AMF performs a standard slice selection procedure based on the bridging request and determines the target AMF so that the target AMF can handle the UE's service request, and further includes:

[0090] In step S502, the local AMF calls the full protocol stack Proxy to establish a bidirectional interface with the target network user plane UPF and the radio access network RAN.

[0091] Step S504: Perform network bridging and traffic splitting operations between non-local network slices and local network slices based on the bidirectional interface.

[0092] In the 5G core network architecture, the N1 interface represents the connection between the UE and the initial AMF, the N2 interface represents the connection between the RAN and the initial AMF, and the N3 interface represents the connection between the RAN and the UPF.

[0093] The local AMF supports proxying the N1 and N2 interfaces to initiate cross-connection requests for non-local network slices to the initial AMF based on non-locally accepted S-NSSAI.

[0094] In addition, the data plane is controlled by the signaling plane to establish a bidirectional N3 interface tunnel. The locally deployed slice provides service capabilities according to the standard process, while the non-local deployment is achieved by the local AMF establishing a bidirectional N3 interface tunnel based on the full protocol stack Proxy.

[0095] In one embodiment, the initial AMF performs a judgment operation on the bridging request based on the standard slice selection mechanism, specifically including: the radio access network (RAN) sending the initial registration request to the initial AMF; the initial AMF triggering the standard slice selection mechanism to calculate the intersection between the Requested NSSAI and the Subscribed S-NSSAI, and determining the Allowed NSSAI based on the intersection; and the initial AMF determining the Configured NSSAI based on the configuration information; and the initial AMF performing a judgment operation on the bridging request based on the Allowed NSSAI and the Configured NSSAI.

[0096] like Figure 6 As shown, the main steps of slice bridging registration signaling include:

[0097] In step S602, the local AMF parses the NAS message, extracts the non-local network slice request, and the full protocol stack proxy reconstructs the user terminal UE+RAN side message, and re-initiates the registration request to the initial AMF.

[0098] Step S604: Select UDM.

[0099] Specifically, the initial AMF requests the UE's slice selection subscription data from the UDM by triggering the Nudm_SDM_Get service operation, and the UDM sends the corresponding slice subscription data to the AMF.

[0100] In step S606, if the initial AMF cannot provide services for all signed S-NSSAI(s), the initial AMF sends the Nnssf_NSSelection_Get message to the NSSF to complete the slice selection.

[0101] Specifically, NSSF will return the NSI, AMF set, or alternative AMF list served by the S-NSSAI combination to the initial AMF.

[0102] Step S608: Initial AMF, query NRF to find a suitable target AMF with NF capability that can provide services to user terminal UE, and redirect NAS messages to the target AMF.

[0103] In addition, the NRF will respond with a list of potential target AMF(s) and may provide a list of available services for candidate AMF(s).

[0104] Step S610: The initial AMF forwards the NAS message to the target AMF or forwards it to the target AMF (via (R)AN).

[0105] The above registration process enables UE (User Equipment) to register across non-local network slices.

[0106] It should be noted that the above figures are merely illustrative of the processes included in the method according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, and are not intended to be limiting. It is readily understood that the processes shown in the above figures do not indicate or limit the temporal order of these processes. Furthermore, it is readily understood that these processes may, for example, be executed synchronously or asynchronously in multiple modules.

[0107] Those skilled in the art will understand that various aspects of the present invention can be implemented as systems, methods, or program products. Therefore, various aspects of the present invention can be specifically implemented in the following forms: entirely hardware implementations, entirely software implementations (including firmware, microcode, etc.), or implementations combining hardware and software aspects, collectively referred to herein as “circuits,” “modules,” or “systems.”

[0108] The following reference Figure 7 To describe a local network traffic splitting device 700 according to this embodiment of the present invention. Figure 7 The local network traffic splitting device 700 shown is merely an example and should not impose any limitations on the functionality and scope of use of the embodiments of the present invention.

[0109] The local network offloading device 700 is manifested as a network element functional entity. Components of the local network offloading device 700 may include, but are not limited to: a user terminal UE 702, used to send an initial registration request to the radio access network RAN ​​704 of the 5G network; the radio access network RAN ​​704, used to send the initial registration request to the initial AMF 706; the initial AMF 706, used to select the unified data management UDM 708 according to the registration mechanism, triggering the Nudm_SDM_Get service operation to request the slice subscription data of the user terminal UE from the UDM 708; the UDM 708 is also used to: feed back the slice subscription data to the initial AMF 706; the initial AMF 706 is also used to: determine, based on the slice subscription data, that it cannot provide S-NSSAI for subscription. The service sends Nnssf_NSSelection_Get information to the network slice selection NSSF710; the local network offloading device also includes: the network slice selection NSSF710, which is used to perform slice selection based on a preset policy and feed back the first slice selection result to the initial AMF706; the initial AMF706 is also used to: determine the local AMF712 that can provide services to the UE according to the first slice selection result, and redirect the initial registration request to the local AMF712; the local network offloading device also includes: the local AMF712, which is used to adapt the slice that the UE702 expects to connect to, wherein the slice includes crossover services between local network slices and non-local network slices.

[0110] The following is further reference Figure 8This disclosure further describes the interactions between the network element functional entities involved.

[0111] like Figure 8 As shown, in one embodiment, the local AMF712 is further configured to: when the local AMF712 determines that the RequestedNSSAI includes some non-locally acceptable S-NSSAIs, the local AMF712 initiates a cross-connection request to the initial AMF706 based on the non-locally acceptable S-NSSAIs and calls the full protocol stack Proxy.

[0112] In one embodiment, the local AMF712 is also used to: create a virtual user for UE702 on the unified data management UDM708 and / or unified data warehouse UDR714, and assign a virtual identity of UE702 to the virtual user in order to generate a bridging request based on the virtual identity.

[0113] In one embodiment, the initial AMF706 is further configured to: perform a judgment operation on the bridging request based on the standard slice selection mechanism; select the unified data management UDM708 for the bridging request based on the judgment operation, triggering the Nudm_SDM_Get service operation to request the slice selection subscription data of UE702 from the UDM708; the UDM708 is further configured to: feed back the slice selection subscription data to the initial AMF706; the initial AMF706 is further configured to: send Nnssf_NSSelec to the NSSF710 when it is unable to provide service for the subscribed S-NSSAI. The tion_Get information NSSF710 is also used to: perform slice selection and return the second slice selection result to the initial AMF706; the initial AMF706 is also used to: perform a query operation based on the second slice selection result, query the Network Data Repository (NRF) to find a target AMF716 with NF capability to provide services to UE702; the NRF is also used to: feed back a list including the target AMF716 to the initial AMF706 based on the query operation; the initial AMF706 reroutes the bridging request to the target AMF716 based on the list, and the target AMF716 provides bridging slice services to UE702.

[0114] In one embodiment, the local AMF712 is also used to: call the full protocol stack Proxy to establish a bidirectional interface with the target network user plane UPF718 and the radio access network RAN704, so as to perform network bridging and traffic splitting operations between non-local network slices and local network slices based on the bidirectional interface.

[0115] In addition, those skilled in the art will understand that, at the data interaction layer, the local AMF712 acts as a proxy, enabling the data from the UPF718 to be sent to the RAN704 via the local AMF712 and then forwarded to the UE702.

[0116] Specifically, a 5G system consists of an access network (RAN) and a core network (5GC) (38.300). If NSA (Non-Standalone) scenarios are considered, 4G network elements also need to be taken into account.

[0117] RAN704 has two types: gNB and ng-eNB. gNB provides NR user plane and control plane protocol endpoints for UE, while ng-eNB provides E-UTRA user plane and control plane protocol endpoints for UE.

[0118] From the above description of the embodiments, those skilled in the art will readily understand that the exemplary embodiments described herein can be implemented by software or by combining software with necessary hardware. Therefore, the technical solutions according to the embodiments of this disclosure can be embodied in the form of a software product, which can be stored in a non-volatile storage medium (such as a CD-ROM, USB flash drive, external hard drive, etc.) or on a network, including several instructions to cause a computing device (such as a personal computer, server, terminal device, or network device, etc.) to execute the methods according to the embodiments of this disclosure.

[0119] In exemplary embodiments of this disclosure, a computer-readable storage medium is also provided, on which a program product capable of implementing the methods described above is stored. In some possible embodiments, various aspects of the present invention may also be implemented as a program product comprising program code that, when the program product is run on a terminal device, causes the terminal device to perform the steps of the various exemplary embodiments of the present invention described in the "Exemplary Methods" section above.

[0120] According to embodiments of the present invention, a program product for implementing the above-described method may employ a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) and include program code, and may run on a terminal device, such as a personal computer. However, the program product of the present invention is not limited thereto. In this document, a readable storage medium may be any tangible medium containing or storing a program that may be used by or in conjunction with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

[0121] Computer-readable signal media may include data signals propagated in baseband or as part of a carrier wave, carrying readable program code. Such propagated data signals may take various forms, including but not limited to electromagnetic signals, optical signals, or any suitable combination thereof. A readable signal medium may also be any readable medium other than a readable storage medium, capable of sending, propagating, or transmitting programs for use by or in conjunction with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

[0122] The program code contained on the readable medium may be transmitted using any suitable medium, including but not limited to wireless, wired, optical fiber, RF, etc., or any suitable combination thereof.

[0123] Program code for performing the operations of this invention can be written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including object-oriented programming languages ​​such as Java and C++, and conventional procedural programming languages ​​such as C or similar languages. The program code can execute entirely on the user's computing device, partially on the user's device, as a standalone software package, partially on the user's computing device and partially on a remote computing device, or entirely on a remote computing device or server. In cases involving remote computing devices, the remote computing device can be connected to the user's computing device via any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or it can be connected to an external computing device (e.g., via the Internet using an Internet service provider).

[0124] It should be noted that although several modules or units for the device used to perform actions have been mentioned in the detailed description above, this division is not mandatory. In fact, according to embodiments of this disclosure, the features and functions of two or more modules or units described above can be embodied in one module or unit. Conversely, the features and functions of one module or unit described above can be further divided and embodied by multiple modules or units.

[0125] Furthermore, although the steps of the method in this disclosure are described in a specific order in the accompanying drawings, this does not require or imply that the steps must be performed in that specific order, or that all the steps shown must be performed to achieve the desired result. Additional or alternative steps may be omitted, multiple steps may be combined into one step, and / or a step may be broken down into multiple steps.

[0126] From the above description of the embodiments, those skilled in the art will readily understand that the exemplary embodiments described herein can be implemented by software or by combining software with necessary hardware. Therefore, the technical solutions according to the embodiments of this disclosure can be embodied in the form of a software product, which can be stored in a non-volatile storage medium (such as a CD-ROM, USB flash drive, external hard drive, etc.) or on a network, including several instructions to cause a computing device (such as a personal computer, server, mobile terminal, or network device, etc.) to execute the methods according to the embodiments of this disclosure.

[0127] Other embodiments of this disclosure will readily occur to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the specification and practice of the invention disclosed herein. This application is intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of this disclosure that follow the general principles of this disclosure and include common knowledge or customary techniques in the art not disclosed herein. The specification and examples are to be considered exemplary only, and the true scope and spirit of this disclosure are indicated by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A local network traffic offloading method applied to a 5G network, characterized in that, include: The user terminal (UE) sends an initial registration request to the radio access network (RAN) of the 5G network, the initial registration request including Requested NSSAI; The Radio Access Network (RAN) sends the initial registration request to the Initial AMF. The initial AMF selects a unified data management UDM according to the registration mechanism and triggers the Nudm_SDM_Get service operation to request the slice subscription data of the user terminal UE from the UDM; The UDM feeds back the slice signing data to the initial AMF; The initial AMF determines that it cannot provide services to the signed S-NSSAI based on the slice signing data, and sends Nnssf_NSSelection_Get information to the network slice selection NSSF. The NSSF performs slice selection based on a preset strategy and feeds back the first slice selection result to the initial AMF; The initial AMF determines a local AMF capable of providing services to the UE based on the first slice selection result, and redirects the initial registration request to the local AMF. This includes: when the local AMF determines that the Requested NSSAI contains some S-NSSAIs that are not locally acceptable, the local AMF initiates a non-local network slice bridging request to the initial AMF based on the non-locally acceptable S-NSSAIs; the initial AMF executes a standard slice selection procedure based on the bridging request, determines a target AMF to handle the UE's service request, and returns the non-local network slice selection result to the local AMF, so that the local AMF can adapt the slice that the UE wishes to connect to and perform local network service offloading. The slices include local network slices and crossover services for non-local network slices.

2. The local network traffic offloading method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The local AMF initiates a cross-connection request for the non-local network slice to the initial AMF based on the non-locally acceptable S-NSSAI, specifically including: When the local AMF determines that the Requested NSSAI includes some S-NSSAIs that are not locally acceptable, the local AMF initiates the bridging request to the initial AMF based on the non-locally acceptable S-NSSAIs and calls the full protocol stack Proxy.

3. The local network traffic offloading method according to claim 2, characterized in that, Before the local AMF initiates the bridging request to the initial AMF based on the non-locally acceptable S-NSSAI and calls the full protocol stack Proxy, the following steps are also included: The local AMF creates a virtual user for the UE on the Unified Data Management UDM and / or Unified Data Warehouse UDR, and assigns a virtual identifier for the UE to the virtual user in order to generate the bridging request based on the virtual identifier.

4. The local network traffic offloading method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, The initial AMF performs a standard slice selection procedure based on the bridging request and determines a target AMF to handle the UE's service request, specifically including: The initial AMF performs a judgment operation on the bridging request based on the standard slice selection mechanism; The initial AMF selects the Unified Data Management UDM for the bridging request based on the judgment operation, and triggers the Nudm_SDM_Get service operation to request the UE's slice selection subscription data from the UDM; The UDM feeds back the slice selection and signing data to the initial AMF; When the initial AMF is unable to provide services for the signed S-NSSAI, the Nnssf_NSSelection_Get information is sent to the NSSF, and the NSSF performs slice selection and returns the second slice selection result to the initial AMF. The initial AMF performs a query operation based on the second slice selection result, querying the Network Data Repository (NRF) to find the target AMF with NF capability to provide services to the UE; The NRF returns a list including the target AMF to the initial AMF based on the query operation; The initial AMF redirects the bridging request to the target AMF based on the list, and the target AMF provides bridging slicing services to the UE.

5. The local network traffic offloading method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, The initial AMF performs a standard slice selection procedure based on the bridging request and determines a target AMF so that the target AMF can handle the UE's service request, and also includes: The local AMF calls the full protocol stack Proxy to establish a bidirectional interface with the target network user plane UPF and the radio access network RAN, so as to perform network bridging and traffic splitting operations between the non-local network slice and the local network slice based on the bidirectional interface.

6. A local network traffic offloading device, applied to a 5G network, characterized in that, include: User terminal (UE) is used to send an initial registration request to the radio access network (RAN) of the 5G network, the initial registration request including Requested NSSAI; Radio Access Network (RAN) is used to send the initial registration request to the initial AMF; The initial AMF is used to select the Unified Data Management UDM according to the registration mechanism and trigger the Nudm_SDM_Get service operation to request the slice subscription data of the user terminal UE from the UDM; The UDM is also used to: feed back the slice signing data to the initial AMF; The initial AMF is also used to: determine, based on the slice signing data, that it cannot provide services to the signed S-NSSAI, and send Nnssf_NSSelection_Get information to the network slice selection NSSF; The local network traffic offloading device also includes: Network Slice Selection (NSSF) is used to perform slice selection based on a preset strategy and feed back the first slice selection result to the initial AMF. The initial AMF is further configured to: determine a local AMF capable of providing services to the UE based on the first slice selection result, and redirect the initial registration request to the local AMF, including: when the local AMF determines that the Requested NSSAI contains some S-NSSAIs that are not locally acceptable, the local AMF initiates a non-local network slice bridging request to the initial AMF based on the non-locally acceptable S-NSSAIs; the initial AMF executes a standard slice selection procedure based on the bridging request, determines a target AMF so that the target AMF can accept the UE's service request, and returns the non-local network slice selection result to the local AMF; The local network traffic offloading device also includes: The local AMF is used to adapt the slice to which the UE expects to connect and perform local network service offloading. The slices include local network slices and crossover services for non-local network slices.

7. A network system, characterized in that, include: processor; as well as Memory for storing the executable instructions of the processor; The processor is configured to execute the local network traffic offloading method according to any one of claims 1 to 5 by executing the executable instructions.

8. A computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, characterized in that, When the computer program is executed by the processor, it implements the local network traffic splitting method according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

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