A policy coordination method and device for user equipment groups

Abstract

The present disclosure proposes a policy coordination method for a user equipment (UE) group, comprising: receiving a policy request related to a group policy for the UE group; and performing policy coordination for the UE group based on the policy request and pre-stored group policy information, wherein the pre-stored group policy information indicates, for various group policies of the UE group, the policies to be adopted by each UE in the UE group. This solution pre-stores the group policy information in each PCF network element in a PCF network element group serving the UE group, so that when any PCF network element in the PCF network element group receives a policy request, it can perform policy coordination for the UE group based on the policy request and the pre-stored group policy information.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the field of mobile communication technology, and in particular to a policy coordination method and apparatus for a user equipment (UE) group. Background Art

[0002] In current network systems, there is a situation where a group of user equipment (UE) collaborates to perform actions or applications. In this case, the policy requirements of each UE in the group are adjusted as the policy changes of another UE in the group are adjusted, thereby ensuring that the policies corresponding to each UE in the group are coordinated and consistent. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The present application discloses a policy coordination method and apparatus for a user equipment group, which can coordinate policies of a UE group to ensure that the policies corresponding to each UE in the UE group are coordinated and consistent.

[0004] An embodiment of the first aspect of the present disclosure proposes a policy coordination method for a user equipment UE group, which is applied to a policy control function (PCF) network element. The method includes: receiving a policy request, which is related to a group policy for the UE group; and performing policy coordination on the UE group based on the policy request and pre-stored group policy information, wherein the pre-stored group policy information indicates the policy that each UE in the UE group should adopt for various group policies of the UE group.

[0005] Optionally, when the PCF network element group used to serve the UE group only includes the PCF network element, the policy coordination of the UE group based on the policy request and pre-stored group policy information includes: determining a respective policy for each UE served by the PCF network element based on the policy request and pre-stored group policy information.

[0006] Optionally, when the PCF network element group used to serve the UE group includes other PCF network elements other than the PCF network element, the policy coordination for the UE group based on the policy request and pre-stored group policy information includes: determining the policy for the UE served by the PCF network element and determining the policy request for other UEs in the UE group based on the policy request and pre-stored group policy information; obtaining the respective identification information of the PCF network elements serving the other UEs; and sending policy requests of the UEs they respectively serve to the PCF network elements serving the other UEs based on the respective identification information of the PCF network elements serving the other UEs, so as to instruct the PCF network elements serving the other UEs to determine the policies for the UEs they respectively serve based on the policy requests of the UEs they respectively serve and the pre-stored group policy information.

[0007] Optionally, when the PCF network element group used to serve the UE group includes other PCF network elements other than the PCF network element, the policy coordination for the UE group based on the policy request and pre-stored group policy information includes: determining a policy for the UE served by the PCF network element based on the policy request and pre-stored group policy information; obtaining the respective identification information of the PCF network elements serving other UEs in the UE group; and sending the policy request to the PCF network elements serving the other UEs based on the respective identification information of the PCF network elements serving the other UEs, so as to instruct the PCF network elements serving the other UEs to determine the policy requests of the UEs they respectively serve based on the policy requests, and determine the policies for the UEs they respectively serve based on the policy requests of the UEs they respectively serve and the pre-stored group policy information.

[0008] Optionally, the method also includes: receiving a service request for the UE group from an application function AF network element served by any PCF network element in the PCF network element group used to serve the UE group, the service request including group policy information for the UE group; and storing the group policy information.

[0009] Optionally, the service request also includes a policy synchronization indication. When the PCF network element group includes other PCF network elements other than the PCF network element, the method also includes: obtaining the respective identification information of the other PCF network elements; and sending the group policy information to the other PCF network elements respectively according to the respective identification information of the other PCF network elements, so that the other PCF network elements respectively store the group policy information.

[0010] Optionally, when the PCF network element group used to serve the UE group includes other PCF network elements other than the PCF network element, the method also includes: receiving group policy information for the UE group from another PCF network element in the PCF network element group, wherein the group policy information comes from a service request received by the other PCF network element from the AF network element corresponding to the other PCF network element; and storing the group policy information.

[0011] Optionally, the receiving the policy request includes: receiving the policy request from an AF network element served by the PCF network element; or receiving the policy request from another PCF network element other than the PCF network element in the PCF network element group used to serve the UE group.

[0012] An embodiment of the second aspect of the present disclosure provides a policy coordination method for a user equipment UE group, which is applied to an application function (AF) network element. The method includes: sending a policy request to a policy control function PCF network element serving the AF network element, wherein the policy request is related to the group policy for the UE group and instructs the PCF network element to perform policy coordination for the UE group based on the policy request and pre-stored group policy information, wherein the pre-stored group policy information indicates the policy that each UE in the UE group should adopt for various group policies of the UE group.

[0013] Optionally, the method further includes: sending a service request for the UE group to a PCF network element serving the AF network element, the service request including group policy information for the UE group, so that the PCF network element stores the group policy information.

[0014] Optionally, the service request also includes a policy synchronization indication, which is used to instruct the PCF network element to send the group policy information to the other PCF network elements respectively when the PCF network element group used to serve the UE group includes other PCF network elements other than the PCF network element, so that the other PCF network elements can store the group policy information respectively.

[0015] Optionally, the method further includes: sending a service request for the UE group to each PCF network element in the PCF network element group used to serve the UE group, the service request including group policy information for the UE group, so that each PCF network element stores the group policy information respectively.

[0016] An embodiment of the third aspect of the present disclosure provides a policy coordination device for a user equipment UE group, which is applied to a PCF network element. The device includes: a communication module, configured to receive a policy request, wherein the policy request is related to the group policy for the UE group; and a processing module, configured to perform policy coordination on the UE group based on the policy request and pre-stored group policy information, wherein the pre-stored group policy information indicates the policy that each UE in the UE group should adopt for various group policies of the UE group.

[0017] Optionally, when the PCF network element group used to serve the UE group includes only the PCF network element, the processing module is further used to: determine a respective policy for each UE in the UE group according to the policy request and pre-stored group policy information.

[0018] Optionally, when the PCF network element group used to serve the UE group includes other PCF network elements other than the PCF network element, the processing module is also used to: determine the policy for the UE served by the PCF network element and determine the policy request for other UEs in the UE group based on the policy request and pre-stored group policy information; obtain the respective identification information of the PCF network elements serving the other UEs; and send policy requests of the UEs they respectively serve to the PCF network elements serving the other UEs based on the respective identification information of the PCF network elements serving the other UEs, so as to instruct the PCF network elements serving the other UEs to determine the policies for the UEs they respectively serve based on the policy requests of the UEs they respectively serve and the pre-stored group policy information.

[0019] Optionally, when the PCF network element group used to serve the UE group includes other PCF network elements other than the PCF network element, the processing module is also used to: determine a policy for the UE served by the PCF network element based on the policy request and pre-stored group policy information; obtain the respective identification information of the PCF network elements serving other UEs in the UE group; and send the policy request to the PCF network elements serving the other UEs respectively based on the respective identification information of the PCF network elements serving the other UEs, so as to instruct the PCF network elements serving the other UEs to determine the policy requests of the UEs they respectively serve based on the policy requests, and determine the policies for the UEs they respectively serve based on the policy requests of the UEs they respectively serve and the pre-stored group policy information.

[0020] Optionally, the communication module is also used to receive a service request for the UE group from an application function AF network element served by any PCF network element in the PCF network element group used to serve the UE group, and the service request includes group policy information for the UE group; and the device also includes a storage module configured to store the group policy information.

[0021] Optionally, the service request also includes a policy synchronization indication. When the PCF network element group includes other PCF network elements other than the PCF network element, the communication module is further configured to: obtain the respective identification information of the other PCF network elements; and send the group policy information to the other PCF network elements respectively according to the respective identification information of the other PCF network elements, so that the other PCF network elements respectively store the group policy information.

[0022] Optionally, when the PCF network element group used to serve the UE group includes other PCF network elements other than the PCF network element, the communication module is also used to receive group policy information for the UE group from another PCF network element in the PCF network element group, wherein the group policy information comes from a service request received by the other PCF network element from an AF network element corresponding to the other PCF network element; and the device also includes a storage module configured to store the group policy information.

[0023] Optionally, the communication module is configured to: receive the policy request from an AF network element served by the PCF network element; or receive the policy request from another PCF network element other than the PCF network element in the PCF network element group serving the UE group.

[0024] An embodiment of the fourth aspect of the present disclosure provides a policy coordination device for a user equipment UE group, which is applied to an AF network element. The device includes: a communication module, configured to send a policy request to a policy control function PCF network element serving the AF network element, wherein the policy request is related to the group policy for the UE group and instructs the PCF network element to perform policy coordination on the UE group based on the policy request and pre-stored group policy information, wherein the pre-stored group policy information indicates the policy that each UE in the UE group should adopt for various group policies of the UE group.

[0025] Optionally, the communication module is further used to: send a service request for the UE group to a PCF network element serving the AF network element, where the service request includes group policy information for the UE group, so that the PCF network element stores the group policy information.

[0026] Optionally, the service request also includes a policy synchronization indication, which is used to instruct the PCF network element to send the group policy information to the other PCF network elements respectively when the PCF network element group used to serve the UE group includes other PCF network elements other than the PCF network element, so that the other PCF network elements can store the group policy information respectively.

[0027] Optionally, the communication module is also used to: send a service request for the UE group to each PCF network element in the PCF network element group used to serve the UE group, the service request including group policy information for the UE group, so that each PCF network element stores the group policy information respectively.

[0028] The fifth aspect embodiment of the present disclosure provides a communication device, including: a transceiver; a memory; a processor, which is connected to the transceiver and the memory respectively, and is configured to control the wireless signal reception and transmission of the transceiver by executing computer-executable instructions on the memory, and can implement the policy coordination method for the user equipment UE group described in the above-mentioned first aspect embodiment or second aspect embodiment.

[0029] The sixth 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 the processor, the policy coordination method for the user equipment UE group described in the above-mentioned first aspect embodiment or second aspect embodiment can be implemented.

[0030] The embodiments of the present disclosure provide a policy coordination method and apparatus for a user equipment UE group, which pre-stores group policy information in each PCF network element in the PCF network element group serving the UE group, so that when any PCF network element in the PCF network element group receives a policy request, policy coordination can be performed on the UE group based on the policy request and the pre-stored group policy information.

[0031] Additional aspects and advantages of the present disclosure will be given in part in the following description and in part will be obvious from the following description, or will be learned through practice of the present disclosure. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0032] The above and / or additional aspects and advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent and readily understood from the following description of the embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0033] Figure 1 1 is a flow chart of a policy coordination method for a UE group according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0034] Figure 2 1 is a flow chart of a policy coordination method for a UE group according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0035] Figure 3 It shows how the AF network element provides group policy information to the PCF network element;

[0036] Figure 4 1 is a flow chart of a policy coordination method for a UE group according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0037] Figure 5 1 is a flow chart of a policy coordination method for a UE group according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0038] Figure 6 1 is a flow chart of a policy coordination method for a UE group according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0039] Figure 7 1 is a flow chart of a policy coordination method for a UE group according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0040] Figure 8 1 is a flow chart of a policy coordination method for a UE group according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0041] Figure 9 1 is a flow chart of a policy coordination method for a UE group according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0042] Figure 10 1 is a flow chart of a policy coordination method for a UE group according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0043] Figure 11 This is a specific implementation flow chart of a policy coordination method for a UE group according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0044] Figure 12 This is a specific implementation flow chart of a policy coordination method for a UE group according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0045] Figure 13 A schematic structural diagram of a policy coordination device for a UE group provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0046] Figure 14 A schematic structural diagram of a policy coordination device for a UE group provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0047] Figure 15 A schematic structural diagram of a policy coordination device for a UE group provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0048] Figure 16 A schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0049] The following describes in detail embodiments of the present disclosure, examples of which are shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein the same or similar reference numerals throughout represent the same or similar elements or elements having the same or similar functions. The embodiments described below with reference to the accompanying drawings are exemplary and are intended to be used to explain the present disclosure, and should not be construed as limiting the present disclosure.

[0050] In the current field of mobile communications, there are situations where a group of UEs collaborate to execute actions or applications. In this case, if the policy corresponding to the AF session of a UE in the UE group changes, the policies corresponding to the AF sessions of other UEs in the UE group also need to be adjusted accordingly to ensure that the policies of the AF sessions of each UE in the UE group are coordinated and consistent, thereby ensuring synchronization between the AF sessions of each UE.

[0051] To this end, the present application provides a policy coordination method and apparatus for a UE group, which can coordinate policies for the UE group so that the policies corresponding to the AF session of each UE in the UE group are coordinated and consistent.

[0052] Figure 1 A policy coordination method for a UE group according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown, and the method is applied to a policy control function (PCF) network element. One or more PCF network elements may serve the UE group. For example, all UEs in the UE group may be served by one PCF network element, or each UE in the UE group may be served by a different PCF network element. Figure 1 As shown, in this embodiment, the policy coordination method for a UE group includes the following steps.

[0053] S101: Receive a policy request, where the policy request is related to a group policy for a UE group.

[0054] For a UE in a UE group, when the policy required for the AF session of the UE changes, the AF network element corresponding to the UE may send information carrying a policy request to the PCF network element serving the UE. The policy request is related to the group policy, for example, the policy request may be a Quality of Service (QoS) policy request related to the Quality of Service policy of the UE group. The PCF network element may receive the policy request from the AF network element.

[0055] In some embodiments, the policy request may be received from the AF network element served by the PCF network element or from another PCF network element other than the PCF network element in the PCF network element group serving the UE group (if any).

[0056] S102: Perform policy coordination on the UE group according to the policy request and pre-stored group policy information.

[0057] The group policy information is pre-stored in the PCF network element. For example, the group policy information may have the following table format:

[0058] UE1 UE2 … UEn Strategy 1 P11 P12 … P1n Strategy 2 P21 P22 … P2n … Strategy m Pm1 Pm2 … Pmn

[0059] Table 1 Group policy information for UE groups

[0060] As stated above, the UE group includes n UEs, UE1-UEn, and the group policies involved in the UE group include m policies, policy 1-policy m, for example, the group policy can be a QoS policy. The policy that each UE should adopt for each group policy is recorded in the group policy information. Since the UE group collaborates to complete the action, each UE in the UE group needs to adopt a coordinated and consistent policy for each group policy as recorded in the group policy information. For example, for the group policy of policy 1, the corresponding policy adopted by UE1 is P11, the corresponding policy adopted by UE2 is P12..., and the corresponding policy adopted by UEn is P1n. Of course, it should be understood that the group policy information can have other formats, as long as it can record the corresponding policy that each UE should adopt.

[0061] Since the above group policy information is pre-stored in the PCF network element, after the PCF network element receives the policy request, it can perform policy coordination on the UE group according to the policy request and the pre-stored group policy information.

[0062] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, by pre-storing group policy information in the PCF network element serving the UE group, when the PCF network element receives a policy request, it can coordinate the policy of the UE group according to the policy request and the pre-stored group policy information, thereby ensuring policy synchronization between the AF sessions of each UE.

[0063] Figure 2 A policy coordination method for a UE group according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown, wherein the method applies a PCF network element, which is one of a group of PCF network elements serving the UE group. Figure 1 Based on the embodiment shown in FIG, this embodiment shows how to obtain and store group policy information. Figure 2 As shown, the policy coordination method for a UE group includes the following steps.

[0064] S201: Receive a service request for a UE group from an AF network element served by any PCF network element in a PCF network element group, where the service request includes group policy information for the UE group.

[0065] UEs in a UE group can be served by a PCF network element group comprising multiple PCF network elements. When a service needs to be initiated for a UE in the UE group, the AF network element corresponding to the UE can send a service request to any PCF network element in the PCF network element group serving the UE group. Consequently, a PCF network element in the PCF network element group can receive the service request from the AF network element corresponding to any PCF network element in the PCF network element group. The service request includes group policy information for the UE group.

[0066] Figure 3 The figure shows how the PCF network element obtains group policy information from the AF network element. Figure 3 As shown, it is assumed that the PCF network element group serving the UE group includes three PCF network elements, and each PCF network element corresponds to one AF network element.

[0067] In the first approach, each PCF network element in the PCF network element group receives a service request carrying group policy information from the AF network element it serves, for example, Figure 3 As shown in (a), the first PCF network element PCF1 receives a service request from the AF network element AF1 it serves, the second PCF network element PCF2 receives a service request from the AF network element AF2 it serves, and the third PCF network element PCF3 receives a service request from the AF network element AF3 it serves.

[0068] In the second method, all PCF network elements in the PCF network element group receive service requests carrying group policy information from the same AF network element, for example, Figure 3 As shown in (b), the first PCF network element PCF1, the second PCF network element PCF2 and the third PCF network element PCF3 all receive service requests from the AF network element AF2. Figure 3 Although not shown in the figure, it should be understood that the first PCF network element PCF1, the second PCF network element PCF2 and the third PCF network element PCF3 may also receive the service request from the AF network element AF1, or may also receive the service request from the AF network element AF3.

[0069] In the third mode, a certain PCF network element in the PCF network element group receives a service request carrying group policy information and a policy synchronization indication from the AF network element it serves, for example, Figure 3 As shown in (c), the second PCF network element PCF2 receives a service request from the AF network element it serves. In addition to the group policy information, the service request also includes a policy synchronization indication. The policy synchronization indication is used to instruct the PCF network element to distribute the group policy information in the received service request to other PCF network elements in the PCF network element group.

[0070] In the case of method three, in some embodiments, the policy coordination method for the UE group also includes: obtaining the respective identification information of other PCF network elements in the PCF network element group; and sending the group policy information to other PCF network elements respectively according to the respective identification information of other PCF network elements, so that the other PCF network elements respectively store the group policy information.

[0071] like Figure 3 As shown in (c), after the second PCF network element PCF2 receives a service request including group policy information and a policy synchronization indication from the AF network element it serves, the second PCF network element PCF2 obtains the respective identification information of the other PCF network elements in the PCF network element group, namely, the first PCF network element PCF1 and the third PCF network element PCF3. Specifically, for example, PCF2 can obtain the identification information of the other PCF network elements in the PCF network element group used to serve the UE group by querying the binding support function (BSF) network element. Then, the second PCF network element PCF2 can send the group policy information to the first PCF network element PCF1 and the third PCF network element PCF3 respectively based on the obtained identification information of the first PCF network element PCF1 and the identification information of the third PCF network element PCF3.

[0072] S202: Store group policy information.

[0073] After receiving the service request including the group policy information, the PCF network element may store the group policy information for later use.

[0074] S203: Receive a policy request, where the policy request is related to a group policy for a UE group.

[0075] S204: Perform policy coordination on the UE group according to the policy request and pre-stored group policy information.

[0076] For details of the above steps S203-S204, please refer to Figure 1 The description of S101-S102 shown is omitted here.

[0077] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the PCF network element can obtain and store group policy information from the AF network element corresponding to any PCF network element in the PCF network element group serving the UE group, so that when any PCF network element in the PCF network element group receives a policy request, it can coordinate the policy of the UE group according to the policy request and the stored group policy information, thereby ensuring policy synchronization between the AF sessions of each UE.

[0078] Figure 4A policy coordination method for a UE group according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown, wherein the method applies a PCF network element, which is one of a group of PCF network elements serving the UE group. Figure 1 Based on the embodiment shown in FIG, this embodiment shows how to obtain and store group policy information. Figure 4 As shown, the policy coordination method for a UE group includes the following steps.

[0079] S401: Receive group policy information for the UE group from another PCF network element in a PCF network element group, where the group policy information comes from a service request received by the other PCF network element from an AF network element served by the other PCF network element.

[0080] UEs in a UE group may be served by a PCF network element group including multiple PCF network elements. A PCF network element in the PCF network element group serving the UE group may receive group policy information for the UE group from another PCF network element in the PCF network element group, and the other PCF network element obtains the group policy information from a service request received from the AF network element it serves.

[0081] Reference again Figure 3 (c), as described above, in method three, the first PCF network element PCF1 and the third PCF network element PCF3 respectively receive the group policy information from the second PCF network element PCF2, and the second PCF network element PCF2 receives a service request from the AF network element it serves. In addition to the group policy information, the service request also includes a policy synchronization indication, which is used to instruct the PCF network element to distribute the group policy information in the received service request to other PCF network elements in the PCF network element group.

[0082] S402: Store group policy information.

[0083] After receiving the service request including the group policy information, the PCF network element may store the group policy information for later use.

[0084] S403: Receive a policy request, where the policy request is related to a group policy for a UE group.

[0085] S404: Perform policy coordination on the UE group according to the policy request and pre-stored group policy information.

[0086] For details of the above steps S403-S404, please refer to Figure 1 The description of S101-S102 shown is omitted here.

[0087] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the PCF network element can obtain and store group policy information from another PCF network element in the PCF network element group serving the UE group, so that when any PCF network element in the PCF network element group receives a policy request, it can coordinate the policy of the UE group according to the policy request and the stored group policy information, thereby ensuring policy synchronization between the AF sessions of each UE.

[0088] Figure 5 A policy coordination method for a UE group according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown, wherein the method applies a PCF network element, which is one of a group of PCF network elements serving the UE group. Figure 1 Based on the embodiment shown in FIG, this embodiment shows how to coordinate the policy of the UE group according to the policy request and the group policy information. Figure 5 As shown, in this embodiment, the PCF network element group only includes the PCF network element, that is, the PCF network element is used to serve all UEs in the UE group, and the policy coordination method for the UE group includes the following steps.

[0089] S501: Receive a policy request, where the policy request is related to a group policy for a UE group.

[0090] For details about the above step S501, please refer to Figure 1 The description of S101 shown is omitted here.

[0091] S502: Determine a policy for each UE served by the PCF network element according to the policy request and pre-stored group policy information.

[0092] In the case where the PCF network element serves all UEs in the UE group, after receiving the policy request, the PCF network element may determine a policy for each UE in the UE group according to the policy request and pre-stored group policy information.

[0093] For example, according to the group policy information shown in Table 1, if the policy request received by the PCF network element involves policy 1, the PCF network element can determine policy P11 for UE1 in the UE group, determine policy P12 for UE2... and determine policy P1n for UEn.

[0094] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, all UEs in a UE group are served by the same PCF network element. When the PCF network element receives a policy request, it can determine a respective policy for each UE in the UE group it serves based on the policy request and pre-stored group policy information, thereby ensuring policy synchronization between the AF sessions of each UE.

[0095] Figure 6A policy coordination method for a UE group according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown, wherein the method applies a PCF network element, which is one of a group of PCF network elements serving the UE group. Figure 1 Based on the embodiment shown in FIG, this embodiment shows how to coordinate the policy of the UE group according to the policy request and the group policy information. Figure 6 As shown, in this embodiment, the PCF network element group includes other PCF network elements except the PCF network element, and the policy coordination method for the UE group includes the following steps.

[0096] S601: Receive a policy request, where the policy request is related to a group policy for a UE group.

[0097] For details about the above step S601, please refer to Figure 1 The description of S101 shown is omitted here.

[0098] S602, based on the policy request and the pre-stored group policy information, determines the policy for the UE served by the PCF network element and determines the policy request for other UEs in the UE group, where other UEs refer to other UEs in the UE group except the UE served by the PCF network element, that is, the other UEs are served by other PCF network elements in the PCF network element group except the PCF network element.

[0099] UEs in a UE group may be served by a PCF network element group comprising multiple PCF network elements. When a PCF network element serves a UE in a UE group, the PCF network element may, upon receiving a policy request, determine a policy for the UE and determine policy requests for other UEs in the UE group based on the policy request and pre-stored group policy information.

[0100] For example, according to the group policy information shown in Table 1, if the PCF network element serving UE1 receives a policy request involving a group policy of policy 1, the PCF network element may determine policy P11 for UE1 and determine policy requests for UE2-UEn at the same time.

[0101] S603: Obtain identification information of respective PCF network elements serving other UEs.

[0102] Specifically, for example, the PCF network element may obtain identification information of the PCF network elements of other UEs in the service UE group by querying the BSF network element.

[0103] S604, according to the respective identification information of the PCF network elements serving other UEs, respectively send policy requests of the UEs they serve to the PCF network elements serving other UEs, to instruct the PCF network elements serving other UEs to determine policies for the UEs they serve according to the policy requests of the UEs they serve and the pre-stored group policy information.

[0104] After obtaining the respective identification information of other PCF network elements serving other UEs, the PCF network element can send policy requests determined for the UEs they serve to other PCF network elements respectively, and other PCF network elements can determine the policies for the UEs they serve based on the received policy requests of the UEs they serve and the pre-stored group policy information.

[0105] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the PCF network element group serving the UE group includes multiple PCF network elements. When one of the PCF network elements receives a policy request, the PCF network element can determine the policy for the UE it serves and determine the policy request for other UEs in the UE group based on the policy request and pre-stored group policy information. The PCF network element sends the policy requests of the UEs it serves to other PCF network elements respectively so that the other PCF network elements can determine the policy for the UEs they serve based on the received policy request and the pre-stored group policy information, thereby ensuring policy synchronization between the AF sessions of each UE in the UE group.

[0106] Figure 7 A policy coordination method for a UE group according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown, wherein the method applies a PCF network element, which is one of a group of PCF network elements serving the UE group. Figure 1 Based on the embodiment shown in FIG, this embodiment shows how to coordinate the policy of the UE group according to the policy request and the group policy information. Figure 7 As shown, in this embodiment, the PCF network element group includes other PCF network elements except the PCF network element, and the policy coordination method for the UE group includes the following steps.

[0107] S701: Receive a policy request, where the policy request is related to a group policy for a UE group.

[0108] For details about the above step S701, please refer to Figure 1 The description of S101 shown is omitted here.

[0109] S702: Determine a policy for the UE served by the PCF network element according to the policy request and pre-stored group policy information.

[0110] The UEs in the UE group may be served by a PCF network element group including multiple PCF network elements. When a PCF network element serves a UE in the UE group, the PCF network element may determine a policy for the UE based on the policy request and pre-stored group policy information after receiving the policy request.

[0111] For example, according to the group policy information shown in Table 1, if the PCF network element serving UE1 receives a policy request involving a group policy of policy 1, the PCF network element may determine the policy for UE1 to be P11.

[0112] S703, obtain the respective identification information of the PCF network elements serving other UEs in the UE group, where other UEs refer to other UEs in the UE group except the UE served by the PCF network element, that is, the other UEs are served by other PCF network elements in the PCF network element group except the PCF network element.

[0113] Specifically, for example, the PCF network element may obtain identification information of other PCF network elements used to serve other UEs in the UE group by querying the BSF network element.

[0114] S704, according to the respective identification information of the PCF network elements serving other UEs, respectively send policy requests to the PCF network elements serving other UEs to instruct the PCF network elements serving other UEs to determine the policy requests of the UEs they respectively serve according to the policy requests, and determine the policies for the UEs they respectively serve according to the policy requests of the UEs they respectively serve and the pre-stored group policy information.

[0115] After obtaining the respective identification information of other PCF network elements, the PCF network element can send the received policy request to other PCF network elements. After receiving the policy request, the other PCF network elements determine the policy request of the UE they serve, so that they can determine the policy for the UE they serve based on the policy request of the UE they serve and the pre-stored group policy information.

[0116] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, a PCF network element group serving a UE group includes multiple PCF network elements. When one of the PCF network elements receives a policy request, the PCF network element can determine a policy for the UE it serves based on the policy request and pre-stored group policy information. In addition, the PCF network element sends the received policy request to other PCF network elements, so that the other PCF network elements can determine the policy request of the UE they serve based on the policy request. In this way, the other PCF network elements can determine the policy of the UE they serve based on the policy request of the UE they serve and the pre-stored group policy information, thereby ensuring policy synchronization between the AF sessions of each UE in the UE group.

[0117] Figure 8 A policy coordination method for a UE group according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown, and the method is applied to an application function (AF) network element. Figure 8 As shown, in this embodiment, the policy coordination method for a UE group includes the following steps.

[0118] S801 : Send a policy request to the PCF network element serving the AF network element, where the policy request is related to the group policy for the UE group and instructs the PCF network element to coordinate the policy for the UE group according to the policy request and pre-stored group policy information.

[0119] For a UE in a UE group, when the policy required for the AF session of the UE changes, the AF network element corresponding to the UE may send information carrying a policy request to the PCF network element serving the UE. The policy request is related to the group policy, for example, the policy request may be a Quality of Service (QoS) policy request related to the Quality of Service policy of the UE group. The policy request may instruct the PCF network element to coordinate the policy of the UE group based on the policy request and pre-stored group policy information.

[0120] The PCF network element pre-stores group policy information. For example, the group policy information may have the format shown in Table 1 above.

[0121] As shown in Table 1, the UE group includes n UEs from UE1 to UEn, and the group policies involved in the UE group include m policies from policy 1 to policy m. For example, the group policy can be a QoS policy. The policy that each UE should adopt for each group policy is recorded in the group policy information. Since the UE group collaborates to complete the action, each UE in the UE group needs to adopt a coordinated and consistent policy for each group policy as recorded in the group policy information. For example, for the group policy of policy 1, the corresponding policy adopted by UE1 is P11, the corresponding policy adopted by UE2 is P12..., and the corresponding policy adopted by UEn is P1n. Of course, it should be understood that the group policy information can have other formats, as long as it can record the corresponding policy that each UE should adopt.

[0122] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the AF network element can send a policy request to the PCF network element serving it. The PCF network element has pre-stored group policy information. When the PCF network element receives the policy request, it can coordinate the policy of the UE group according to the policy request and the pre-stored group policy information, thereby ensuring policy synchronization between the AF sessions of each UE.

[0123] Figure 9A policy coordination method for a UE group according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown, and the method applies an AF network element. Figure 8 Based on the embodiment shown, Figure 9 As shown, the policy coordination method for a UE group includes the following steps.

[0124] S901: Send a service request for a UE group to a PCF network element serving the AF network element. The service request includes group policy information for the UE group, so that the PCF network element stores the group policy information.

[0125] For a UE in a UE group, when a service needs to be started, the AF network element corresponding to the UE can send a service request to the PCF network element serving the AF network element. The service request includes group policy information for the UE group, so that after receiving the service request, the PCF network element can store the group policy information for the UE group for subsequent use.

[0126] Reference again Figure 3 , Figure 3 Figure 1 shows how the AF network element provides group policy information to the PCF network element. Figure 3 As shown, it is assumed that the PCF network element group serving the UE group includes three PCF network elements, and each PCF network element corresponds to one AF network element.

[0127] In some embodiments, the AF network element sends a service request carrying group policy information to the PCF network element group serving it, for example, Figure 3 As shown in (a), the first AF network element AF1 sends a service request to the PCF network element PCF1 serving it, the second AF network element AF2 sends a service request to the PCF network element PCF2 serving it, and the third AF network element AF3 sends a service request to the PCF network element PCF3 serving it.

[0128] In some embodiments, the AF network element sends a service request carrying group policy information and a policy synchronization indication to the PCF network element serving it, for example, Figure 3 As shown in (c), the second AF network element AF2 sends a service request to the PCF network element PCF2 serving it. In addition to the group policy information, the service request also includes a policy synchronization indication. The policy synchronization indication is used to instruct the PCF network element to distribute the group policy information in the received service request to other PCF network elements in the PCF network element group when the PCF network element group used to serve the UE group includes other PCF network elements except the PCF network element, so that other PFC network elements can store the group policy information respectively.

[0129] like Figure 3As shown in (c), when the second PCF network element PCF2 receives a service request including group policy information and a policy synchronization indication from the AF network element it serves, the second PCF network element PCF2 obtains the respective identification information of the other PCF network elements in the PCF network element group, namely, the first PCF network element PCF1 and the third PCF network element PCF3. Specifically, for example, PCF2 can obtain the identification information of the other PCF network elements in the PCF network element group serving the UE group by querying the binding support function (BSF) network element. Then, the second PCF network element PCF2 can send the group policy information to the first PCF network element PCF1 and the third PCF network element PCF3 respectively based on the obtained identification information of the first PCF network element PCF1 and the identification information of the third PCF network element PCF3.

[0130] S902: Send a policy request to the PCF network element serving the AF network element, where the policy request is related to the group policy for the UE group and instructs the PCF network element to coordinate the policy for the UE group according to the policy request and pre-stored group policy information.

[0131] For details about the above step S902, please refer to Figure 1 The description of S801 shown is omitted here.

[0132] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the AF network element can send group policy information to the PCF network element serving the AF network element so that the PCF network element can store the group policy information. In addition, the PCF network element can also distribute the group policy information to other PCF network elements in the PCF network element group, so that the group policy information can be stored in each PCF network element in the PCF network element group serving the UE group.

[0133] Figure 10 A policy coordination method for a UE group according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown, and the method applies an AF network element. Figure 8 Based on the embodiment shown, Figure 10 As shown, the policy coordination method for a UE group includes the following steps.

[0134] S1001: Send a service request for a UE group to each PCF network element in a PCF network element group for serving the UE group, where the service request includes group policy information for the UE group, so that each PCF network element stores the group policy information.

[0135] UEs in a UE group may be served by a PCF network element group comprising multiple PCF network elements. For a UE in the UE group, when a service needs to be initiated, the AF network element corresponding to the UE may send a service request to each PCF network element in the PCF network element group serving the UE group. The service request includes group policy information for the UE group. Upon receiving the service request, each PCF network element in the PCF network element group may store the group policy information for the UE group for subsequent use.

[0136] Reference again Figure 3 , Figure 3 Figure 1 shows how the AF network element provides group policy information to the PCF network element. Figure 3 As shown, it is assumed that the PCF network element group serving the UE group includes three PCF network elements, and each PCF network element corresponds to one AF network element.

[0137] In some embodiments, the AF network element sends a service request carrying group policy information to all PCF network elements in the PCF network element group, for example, Figure 3 As shown in (b), the AF network element AF2 sends a service request to the first PCF network element PCF1, the second PCF network element PCF2 and the third PCF network element PCF3. Figure 3 Although not shown in the figure, it should be understood that the AF network element AF1 or the AF network element AF3 can send a service request to the first PCF network element PCF1, the second PCF network element PCF2 and the third PCF network element PCF3.

[0138] S1002: Send a policy request to the PCF network element serving the AF network element, where the policy request is related to the group policy for the UE group and instructs the PCF network element to coordinate the policy for the UE group according to the policy request and pre-stored group policy information.

[0139] For details about the above step S1002, please refer to Figure 1 The description of S801 shown is omitted here.

[0140] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the AF network element can send group policy information to each PCF network element in the PCF network element group serving the UE group so that each PCF network element can store the group policy information, thereby storing the group policy information in each PCF network element in the PCF network element group serving the UE group.

[0141] Figure 11 FIG. 4 shows a specific implementation of a policy coordination method for a UE group according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, such as Figure 11As shown, in this specific implementation, an AF network element, a PCF network element (e.g., PCF1 and PCF2), a BSF network element, and a network exposure function (NEF) network element are involved. Of course, the network elements involved in this specific implementation are only examples, and in other specific implementations and applications, more or fewer network elements may be involved. This specific implementation involves establishing an AF session, which includes the following steps.

[0142] S1101: Provide group policy information to each network element involved, so that each network element stores the group policy information for use in subsequent steps.

[0143] S1102: The AF network element sends an AF session policy creation request to the NEF network element.

[0144] The AF session policy creation request may be an AF session creation request Nnef_AFsessionWithQoS_Create Request regarding a QoS policy. The AF session policy creation request may be related to a group policy of a UE group to which the UE1 served by the AF session belongs.

[0145] S1103: The NEF network element performs an authorization operation in response to the AF session policy creation request.

[0146] S1104 , after determining that the AF session policy creation request is authorized, the NEF network element sends a policy request to the PCF network element PCF1 . For example, the policy request may be a policy authorization creation request Npcf_PolicyAuthorization_Createrequest.

[0147] S1105 , PCF1 determines a policy for UE1 it serves in response to the policy request.

[0148] For example, PCF1 may determine the applied QoS policy for UE1.

[0149] S1106 : In response to the policy request, PCF1 also determines policy requests for other UEs in the UE group to which UE1 belongs based on the stored group policy information.

[0150] For example, PCF1 may determine a QoS policy request for UE2 in the UE group.

[0151] S1107 , PCF1 obtains identification information of PCF2 serving UE2.

[0152] For example, PCF1 may initiate a management discovery (such as Nbsf_Management_Discovery) process to the BSF network element to discover PCF2, thereby obtaining identification information of PCF2.

[0153] S1108: After obtaining the identification information of PCF2, PCF1 may send a policy request determined for UE2 to PCF2.

[0154] For example, the policy request may be a policy authorization update request Npcf_PolicyAuthorization_Update request, which may be a QoS policy request determined for UE2.

[0155] S1109 , after receiving the policy request from UE2 , PCF2 determines a policy for UE2 based on the stored group policy information.

[0156] S1110 , after receiving the policy request from UE2 , PCF2 feeds back response information to PCF1 .

[0157] For example, after PCF2 determines the policy for UE2, it may feed back a policy authorization update response Npcf_PolicyAuthorization_Update response to PCF1.

[0158] S1111: After receiving the response information from PCF2, PCF1 feeds back a response to the NEF network element.

[0159] For example, after PCF1 receives the policy authorization update response Npcf_PolicyAuthorization_Update response from PCF2, it feeds back a policy authorization create response Npcf_PolicyAuthorization_Create response to the NEF network element.

[0160] S1112: After receiving the response to the policy request, the NEF network element feeds back the response to the AF network element.

[0161] For example, after the NEF network element receives the policy authorization creation response Npcf_PolicyAuthorization_Create response from PCF1, it feeds back an AF session creation response regarding the policy to the AF network element, for example, the AF session creation response regarding the QoS policy Nnef_AFsessionWithQoS_Create response.

[0162] S1113 , after receiving the response to the policy request from PCF1 , the NEF network element sends policy authorization subscription information to PCF1 to obtain authorization information about the policy.

[0163] For example, after the NEF network element receives the policy authorization creation response Npcf_PolicyAuthorization_Create response from PCF1, it sends policy authorization subscription information Npcf_PolicyAuthorization_Subscribe to PCF1.

[0164] S1114, PCF1 feeds back a policy authorization notification to the NEF network element.

[0165] For example, after the PCF1 network element receives the policy authorization subscription information Npcf_PolicyAuthorization_Subscribe from the NEF network element, it feeds back a policy authorization notification Npcf_PolicyAuthorization_Notify to the NEF network element to notify the NEF network element of the policy authorization information.

[0166] S1115 , after receiving the policy authorization notification, the NEF network element feeds back an AF session notification regarding the policy to the AF network element.

[0167] For example, after receiving the policy authorization notification Npcf_PolicyAuthorization_Notify from PCF1, the NEF network element feeds back an AF session notification regarding the policy to the AF network element, which may be an AF session notification regarding the QoS policy Nnef_AfsessionWithQoS_Notify.

[0168] According to the above implementation application, during the process of creating an AF session, the policy required by the AF session can be provided to the corresponding UE based on the AF session.

[0169] Figure 12 FIG. 4 shows a specific implementation of a policy coordination method for a UE group according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, such as Figure 12 As shown, in this specific implementation, an AF network element, a PCF network element (e.g., PCF1 and PCF2), a BSF network element, and a network exposure function (NEF) network element are involved. Of course, the network elements involved in this specific implementation are only examples, and in other specific implementations, more or fewer network elements may be involved. This specific implementation involves an AF session update and includes the following steps.

[0170] S1201: Provide group policy information to each network element involved, so that each network element stores the group policy information for use in subsequent steps.

[0171] S1202: The AF network element sends an AF session policy update request to the NEF network element.

[0172] The AF session policy update request may be an AF session update request Nnef_AFsessionWithQoS_Update Request regarding a QoS policy. The AF session policy update request may be related to a group policy of a UE group to which the UE1 served by the AF session belongs.

[0173] S1203: The NEF network element performs an authorization operation in response to the AF session policy update request.

[0174] S1204 , after determining that the policy update request for the AF session is authorized, the NEF network element sends a policy request to the PCF network element PCF1 . For example, the policy request may be a policy authorization update request Npcf_PolicyAuthorization_Updaterequest.

[0175] S1205 : PCF1 determines a policy for UE1 it serves in response to the policy request.

[0176] For example, PCF1 may determine the applied QoS policy for UE1.

[0177] S1206 : In response to the policy request, PCF1 also determines policy requests for other UEs in the UE group to which UE1 belongs based on the stored group policy information.

[0178] For example, PCF1 may determine a QoS policy request for UE2 in the UE group.

[0179] S1207: PCF1 obtains identification information of PCF2 serving UE2.

[0180] For example, PCF1 may initiate a management discovery (such as Nbsf_Management_Discovery) process to the BSF network element to discover PCF2, thereby obtaining identification information of PCF2.

[0181] S1208: After obtaining the identification information of PCF2, PCF1 may send a policy request determined for UE2 to PCF2.

[0182] For example, the policy request may be a policy authorization update request Npcf_PolicyAuthorization_Update request, which may be a QoS policy request determined for UE2.

[0183] S1209: After receiving the policy request from UE2, PCF2 determines a policy for UE2 based on the stored group policy information.

[0184] S1210 , after receiving the policy request from UE2 , PCF2 feeds back response information to PCF1 .

[0185] For example, after PCF2 determines the policy for UE2, it may feed back a policy authorization update response Npcf_PolicyAuthorization_Update response to PCF1.

[0186] S1211: After receiving the response information from PCF2, PCF1 feeds back a response to the NEF network element.

[0187] For example, after PCF1 receives the policy authorization update response Npcf_PolicyAuthorization_Update response from PCF2, it feeds it back to the NEF network element.

[0188] S1212: After receiving the response to the policy request, the NEF network element feeds back the response to the AF network element.

[0189] For example, after the NEF network element receives the policy authorization update response Npcf_PolicyAuthorization_Update response from PCF1, it feeds back an AF session update response regarding the policy to the AF network element, for example, an AF session update response regarding the QoS policy Nnef_AFsessionWithQoS_Update response.

[0190] S1213, PCF1 feeds back a policy authorization notification to the NEF network element.

[0191] For example, the PCF1 network element further feeds back a policy authorization notification Npcf_PolicyAuthorization_Notify to the NEF network element to notify the NEF network element of the authorization information about the policy.

[0192] S1214: After receiving the policy authorization notification, the NEF network element feeds back an AF session notification regarding the policy to the AF network element.

[0193] For example, after receiving the policy authorization notification Npcf_PolicyAuthorization_Notify from PCF1, the NEF network element feeds back an AF session notification regarding the policy to the AF network element, which may be an AF session notification regarding the QoS policy Nnef_AfsessionWithQoS_Notify.

[0194] According to the above implementation application, during the AF session update process, the policy required by the AF session can be provided to the corresponding UE based on the AF session.

[0195] In the embodiments provided above, the methods provided in the embodiments of the present application are described from the perspective of network devices. To implement the various functions in the methods provided in the embodiments of the present application, the network devices may include hardware structures and software modules, and implement the aforementioned functions in the form of hardware structures, software modules, or hardware structures plus software modules. A particular function in the aforementioned functions may be implemented in the form of hardware structures, software modules, or hardware structures plus software modules.

[0196] Corresponding to the policy coordination method for user equipment UE groups provided in the above-mentioned embodiments, the present disclosure also provides a policy coordination device for user equipment UE groups. Since the policy coordination device for user equipment UE groups provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure corresponds to the policy coordination method for user equipment UE groups provided in the above-mentioned embodiments, the implementation method of the policy coordination method for user equipment UE groups is also applicable to the policy coordination device for user equipment UE groups provided in this embodiment, and will not be described in detail in this embodiment. Figure 13-15 It is a structural diagram of a policy coordination device for a UE group proposed in the present disclosure.

[0197] Figure 13 This is a schematic diagram of a structure of a policy coordination device for a UE group provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure. The device is applied to a PCF network element. Figure 13 As shown, the policy coordination device 1300 for a UE group includes:

[0198] The communication module 1301 is configured to receive a policy request, where the policy request is related to a group policy for a UE group; and

[0199] The processing module 1302 is configured to perform policy coordination on the UE group according to the policy request and pre-stored group policy information, wherein the pre-stored group policy information indicates the policy that each UE in the UE group should adopt for various group policies of the UE group.

[0200] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, by pre-storing group policy information in a PCF network element, when the PCF network element receives a policy request, it can coordinate policies for the UE group according to the policy request and the pre-stored group policy information, thereby ensuring policy synchronization between the AF sessions of each UE.

[0201] One or more PCF network elements may serve a UE group. For example, all UEs in the UE group may be served by one PCF network element, or each UE in the UE group may be served by a different PCF network element.

[0202] In some embodiments, when the PCF network element group includes only the PCF network element, the processing module 1302 is configured to determine a respective policy for each UE served by the PCF network element according to the policy request and pre-stored group policy information.

[0203] In some embodiments, when the PCF network element group includes other PCF network elements other than the PCF network element, the processing module 1302 is used to determine the policy for the UE served by the PCF network element and determine the policy request for other UEs in the UE group based on the policy request and pre-stored group policy information; obtain the respective identification information of the PCF network elements serving other UEs; and according to the respective identification information of the PCF network elements serving other UEs, send policy requests of the UEs they respectively serve to the PCF network elements serving other UEs, so as to instruct the PCF network elements serving other UEs to determine the policy for the UEs they respectively serve based on the policy requests of the UEs they respectively serve and the pre-stored group policy information.

[0204] In some embodiments, when the PCF network element group includes other PCF network elements in addition to the PCF network element, the processing module 1302 is used to determine the policy for the UE served by the PCF network element based on the policy request and pre-stored group policy information; obtain the respective identification information of the PCF network elements serving other UEs within the UE; and send policy requests to the PCF network elements serving other UEs based on the respective identification information of the PCF network elements serving other UEs, so as to instruct the PCF network elements serving other UEs to determine the policy requests of the UEs they respectively serve based on the policy requests, and determine the policies for the UEs they respectively serve based on the policy requests of the UEs they respectively serve and the pre-stored group policy information.

[0205] In some embodiments, the communication module 1301 is further configured to receive a service request for a UE group from an application function AF network element served by any PCF network element in the PCF network element group, the service request including group policy information for the UE group. The policy coordination device 1300 for the UE group further includes a storage module 1303 configured to store the group policy information, such as Figure 14 shown.

[0206] In some embodiments, the service request also includes a policy synchronization indication. When the PCF network element group includes other PCF network elements in addition to the PCF network element,

[0207] The communication module 1301 is further configured to obtain respective identification information of other PCF network elements; and send group policy information to other PCF network elements respectively according to the respective identification information of other PCF network elements, so that other PCF network elements respectively store the group policy information.

[0208] In some embodiments, the communication module 1301 is further configured to receive group policy information for a UE group from another PCF network element in the PCF network element group, wherein the group policy information comes from a service request received by the other PCF network element from an AF network element served by the other PCF network element.

[0209] In some embodiments, the communication module 1301 is configured to receive the policy request from an AF network element served by the PCF network element or receive the policy request from another PCF network element in the PCF network element group except the PCF network element.

[0210] Figure 15 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a policy coordination device for a user equipment (UE) group provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure. The device is applied to an AF network element.

[0211] like Figure 15 As shown, the policy coordination device 1600 for the UE group includes: a communication module 1601, which is configured to send a policy request to the PCF network element serving the AF network element, and the policy request is related to the group policy for the UE group and instructs the PCF network element to coordinate the policy of the UE group according to the policy request and pre-stored group policy information, wherein the pre-stored group policy information indicates the policy that each UE of the UE group should adopt for various group policies of the UE group.

[0212] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the AF network element can send a policy request to its corresponding PCF network element, which has pre-stored group policy information. When the PCF network element receives the policy request, it can coordinate the policy of the UE group according to the policy request and the pre-stored group policy information, thereby ensuring policy synchronization between the AF sessions of each UE.

[0213] In some embodiments, the communication module 1601 is further configured to send a service request for the UE group to the PCF network element serving the AF network element, where the service request includes group policy information for the UE group so that the PCF network element stores the group policy information.

[0214] In some embodiments, the service request also includes a policy synchronization indication, which is used to instruct the PCF network element to send group policy information to other PCF network elements separately when the PCF network element group used to serve the UE group includes other PCF network elements other than the PCF network element, so that the other PCF network elements can store the group policy information separately.

[0215] In some embodiments, the communication module 1601 is further used to send a service request for the UE group to each PCF network element in the PCF network element group used to serve the UE group, the service request including group policy information for the UE group so that each PCF network element stores the group policy information separately.

[0216] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the present disclosure also provides a communication device and a computer-readable storage medium.

[0217] like Figure 16 , is a block diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The communication device is intended to represent various forms of digital computers, such as laptop computers, desktop computers, workstations, personal digital assistants, servers, blade servers, mainframe computers, and other suitable computers. The communication device may also represent various forms of mobile devices, such as personal digital assistants, cellular phones, smartphones, wearable devices, and other similar computing devices. The components shown herein, their connections and relationships, and their functions are provided for example only and are not intended to limit the implementation of the present disclosure described and / or claimed herein.

[0218] like Figure 16 As shown, the communication device includes: one or more processors 1710, a memory 1720, and interfaces for connecting various components, including high-speed interfaces and low-speed interfaces. The various components are connected to each other using different buses and can be installed on a common mainboard or installed in other ways as needed. The processor can process instructions executed in the communication device, including instructions stored in or on the memory to display graphical information of a GUI on an external input / output device (such as a display device coupled to the interface). In other embodiments, if necessary, multiple processors and / or multiple buses can be used together with multiple memories and multiple memories. Similarly, multiple communication devices can be connected, and each device provides some necessary operations (for example, as a server array, a group of blade servers, or a multi-processor system). Figure 16 A processor 1710 is taken as an example.

[0219] Memory 1720 is a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium provided in the present disclosure. The memory stores instructions executable by at least one processor, causing the at least one processor to perform the data transmission method provided in the present disclosure. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of the present disclosure stores computer instructions for causing a computer to perform the data transmission method provided in the present disclosure.

[0220] Memory 1720, as a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, can be used to store non-transitory software programs, non-transitory computer executable programs, and modules, such as the program instructions / modules corresponding to the data transmission method in the embodiments of the present disclosure. Processor 1710 executes the non-transitory software programs, instructions, and modules stored in memory 1720 to execute various server functional applications and data processing, thereby implementing the data transmission method in the above-mentioned method embodiments.

[0221] Memory 1720 may include a program storage area and a data storage area. The program storage area may store an operating system and applications required for at least one function; the data storage area may store data generated based on the use of the positioning communication device. Furthermore, memory 1720 may include high-speed random access memory and non-volatile memory, such as at least one disk storage device, flash memory device, or other non-volatile solid-state storage device. Optionally, memory 1720 may include memory remotely located relative to processor 1710, and such remote memory may be connected to the positioning communication device via a network. Examples of such networks include, but are not limited to, the Internet, an intranet, a local area network, a mobile communication network, and combinations thereof.

[0222] The communication device may further include: an input device 1730 and an output device 1740. The processor 1710, the memory 1720, the input device 1730 and the output device 1740 may be connected via a bus or other means. Figure 16 The bus connection is taken as an example.

[0223] Input device 1730 can receive input digital or character information and generate key signal input related to user settings and function control of the positioning communication device, such as input devices such as a touch screen, a keypad, a mouse, a trackpad, a touch pad, a pointer, one or more mouse buttons, a trackball, a joystick, etc. Output device 1740 can include a display device, an auxiliary lighting device (e.g., an LED), and a tactile feedback device (e.g., a vibration motor). The display device can include, but is not limited to, a liquid crystal display (LCD), a light emitting diode (LED) display, and a plasma display. In some embodiments, the display device can be a touch screen.

[0224] Various implementations of the systems and techniques described herein can be realized in digital electronic circuit systems, integrated circuit systems, dedicated ASICs (application specific integrated circuits), computer hardware, firmware, software, and / or combinations thereof. These various implementations can include being implemented in one or more computer programs that can be executed and / or interpreted on a programmable system that includes at least one programmable processor, which can be a special purpose or general purpose programmable processor that can receive data and instructions from a storage system, at least one input device, and at least one output device, and transmit data and instructions to the storage system, the at least one input device, and the at least one output device.

[0225] These computer programs (also referred to as programs, software, software applications, or code) include machine instructions for a programmable processor and can be implemented using high-level procedural and / or object-oriented programming languages, and / or assembly / machine languages. As used herein, the terms "machine-readable medium" and "computer-readable medium" refer to any computer program product, apparatus, and / or device (e.g., a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a memory, a 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.

[0226] To provide interaction with a user, the systems and techniques described herein can be implemented on a computer having: a display device (e.g., a CRT (cathode ray tube) or LCD (liquid crystal display) monitor) for displaying information to the user; and a keyboard and pointing device (e.g., a mouse or trackball) through which the user can provide input to the computer. Other types of devices can also be used to provide interaction with the user; for example, the feedback provided to the user can be any form of sensory feedback (e.g., visual feedback, auditory feedback, or tactile feedback); and input from the user can be received in any form (including acoustic input, voice input, or tactile input).

[0227] The systems and techniques described herein can be implemented in a computing system that includes back-end components (e.g., as a data server), or a computing system that includes middleware components (e.g., an application server), or a computing system that includes front-end components (e.g., a user computer having a graphical user interface or a web browser through which a user can interact with implementations of the systems and techniques described herein), or a computing system that includes any combination of such back-end components, middleware components, or front-end components. The components of the system can be interconnected by any form or medium of digital data communication (e.g., a communication network). Examples of communication networks include a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), and the Internet.

[0228] Computer systems may include clients and servers. A client and server are generally remote from each other and typically interact through a communication network. The client and server relationship arises through computer programs running on the respective computers and having a client-server relationship to each other.

[0229] Those skilled in the art will also appreciate 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 functions are implemented by hardware or software depends on the specific application and the design requirements of the entire system. Those skilled in the art may use various methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be construed as exceeding the scope of protection of the embodiments of the present application.

[0230] The present application also provides a readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon, which implement the functions of any of the above method embodiments when executed by a computer.

[0231] The present application also provides a computer program product, which implements the functions of any of the above method embodiments when executed by a computer.

[0232] 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 process or function described in the embodiment of the present application is generated in whole or in part. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer program can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. 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 a wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) method. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server or data center that includes one or more available media integrated. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (eg, a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (eg, a high-density digital video disc (DVD)), or a semiconductor medium (eg, a solid state disk (SSD)).

[0233] Those skilled in the art will understand that the various numerical numbers such as first and second involved in this application are only for the convenience of description and are not used to limit the scope of the embodiments of this application, and also indicate the order of precedence.

[0234] In this application, at least one can also be described as one or more, and multiple can be two, three, four or more, which is not limited in this application. In the embodiments of this application, for a technical feature, the technical features in the technical feature are distinguished by "first", "second", "third", "A", "B", "C" and "D", and there is no order of precedence or size between the technical features described by "first", "second", "third", "A", "B", "C" and "D".

[0235] The correspondences shown in the tables in this application can be configured or predefined. The values of the information in each table are examples only and can be configured to other values, which are not limited by this application. When configuring the correspondence between information and parameters, it is not necessarily required to configure all the correspondences shown in each table. For example, in the tables in this application, the correspondences shown in certain rows may not be configured. For another example, appropriate deformation adjustments can be made based on the above tables, such as splitting, merging, etc. The names of the parameters shown in the titles of the above tables can also use other names that can be understood by the communication device, and the values or representations of the parameters can also use other values or representations that can be understood by the communication device. When implementing the above tables, other data structures can also be used, such as arrays, queues, containers, stacks, linear lists, pointers, linked lists, trees, graphs, structures, classes, heaps, hash tables or hash tables, etc.

[0236] The predefined in this application may be understood as defined, predefined, stored, pre-stored, pre-negotiated, pre-configured, solidified, or pre-burned.

[0237] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the units and algorithm steps of each example described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are performed in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional and technical personnel can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of this application.

[0238] Those skilled in the art will 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 aforementioned method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0239] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of the present application, but the scope of protection of the present application is not limited thereto. Any changes or substitutions that can be easily conceived by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in this application should be included in the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be based on the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. A policy coordination method for a user equipment UE group, characterized in that: The method is applied to a policy control function (PCF) network element, and includes: receiving a policy request, the policy request relating to a group policy for the group of UEs; and performing policy coordination for the UE group according to the policy request and pre-stored group policy information, wherein the pre-stored group policy information indicates, for various group policies of the UE group, policies that should be adopted by individual UEs in the UE group; When the PCF network element group used to serve the UE group includes other PCF network elements other than the PCF network element, the performing policy coordination on the UE group according to the policy request and the pre-stored group policy information includes: Determine a policy for the UE served by the PCF network element and determine a policy request for other UEs in the UE group except the UE served by the PCF network element according to the policy request and pre-stored group policy information; Obtaining respective identification information of PCF network elements serving the other UEs; and sending, according to the respective identification information of the PCF network elements serving the other UEs, policy requests of the UEs respectively served by them to the PCF network elements serving the other UEs, to instruct the PCF network elements serving the other UEs to determine policies for their respectively served UEs according to the policy requests of the respectively served UEs and the pre-stored group policy information; or, Determining a policy for the UE served by the PCF network element based on the policy request and pre-stored group policy information; Obtaining respective identification information of PCF network elements serving other UEs in the UE group except the UE served by the PCF network element; and According to the respective identification information of the PCF network elements serving the other UEs, the policy requests are respectively sent to the PCF network elements serving the other UEs to instruct the PCF network elements serving the other UEs to determine the policy requests of the UEs they respectively serve according to the policy requests, and determine the policies for the UEs they respectively serve according to the policy requests of the UEs they respectively serve and the pre-stored group policy information.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein When the PCF network element group used to serve the UE group includes only the PCF network element, the performing policy coordination on the UE group according to the policy request and the pre-stored group policy information includes: Determine a respective policy for each UE in the UE group according to the policy request and pre-stored group policy information.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein Also includes: receiving a service request for the UE group from an application function AF network element served by any one of the PCF network element groups for serving the UE group, the service request including group policy information for the UE group; as well as The group policy information is stored.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein The service request further includes a policy synchronization indication. When the PCF network element group includes other PCF network elements except the PCF network element, the method further includes: Obtaining respective identification information of the other PCF network elements; and According to the respective identification information of the other PCF network elements, the group policy information is sent to the other PCF network elements respectively, so that the other PCF network elements respectively store the group policy information.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein When the PCF network element group used to serve the UE group includes other PCF network elements except the PCF network element, the method further includes: receiving group policy information for the UE group from another PCF network element other than the PCF network element, wherein the group policy information comes from a service request received by the other PCF network element from an AF network element served by the other PCF network element; and The group policy information is stored.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein The receiving a policy request includes: receiving the policy request from the AF network element served by the PCF network element; or The policy request is received from another PCF network element other than the PCF network element in the PCF network element group for serving the UE group.

7. A policy coordination method for a user equipment UE group, characterized in that: The method is applied to an application function AF network element, and the method includes: sending a policy request to a policy control function PCF network element serving the AF network element, wherein the policy request is related to the group policy for the UE group and instructs the PCF network element to coordinate the policy for the UE group according to the policy request and pre-stored group policy information, wherein the pre-stored group policy information indicates, for various group policies of the UE group, a policy to be adopted by each UE in the UE group; When the PCF network element group used to serve the UE group includes other PCF network elements other than the PCF network element, the performing policy coordination on the UE group according to the policy request and the pre-stored group policy information includes: Determine a policy for the UE served by the PCF network element and determine a policy request for other UEs in the UE group except the UE served by the PCF network element based on the policy request and pre-stored group policy information; Obtaining respective identification information of PCF network elements serving the other UEs; and sending, according to the respective identification information of the PCF network elements serving the other UEs, policy requests of the UEs respectively served by them to the PCF network elements serving the other UEs, to instruct the PCF network elements serving the other UEs to determine policies for their respectively served UEs according to the policy requests of the respectively served UEs and the pre-stored group policy information; or, Determining a policy for the UE served by the PCF network element based on the policy request and pre-stored group policy information; Obtaining respective identification information of PCF network elements serving other UEs in the UE group except the UE served by the PCF network element; and According to the respective identification information of the PCF network elements serving the other UEs, the policy requests are respectively sent to the PCF network elements serving the other UEs to instruct the PCF network elements serving the other UEs to determine the policy requests of the UEs they respectively serve according to the policy requests, and determine the policies for the UEs they respectively serve according to the policy requests of the UEs they respectively serve and the pre-stored group policy information.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein Also includes: Sending a service request for the UE group to a PCF network element serving the AF network element, where the service request includes group policy information for the UE group, so that the PCF network element stores the group policy information.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein The service request also includes a policy synchronization indication, which is used to instruct the PCF network element to send the group policy information to the other PCF network elements respectively when the PCF network element group used to serve the UE group includes other PCF network elements other than the PCF network element, so that the other PCF network elements respectively store the group policy information.

10. The method according to claim 7, wherein: Also includes: Sending a service request for the UE group to each PCF network element in the PCF network element group for serving the UE group, where the service request includes group policy information for the UE group, so that each PCF network element stores the group policy information respectively.

11. A policy coordination device for a user equipment UE group, characterized in that: The device is applied to a policy control function (PCF) network element, and includes: a communication module configured to receive a policy request, the policy request being related to a group policy for the UE group; and a processing module configured to perform policy coordination on the UE group according to the policy request and pre-stored group policy information, wherein the pre-stored group policy information indicates, for various group policies of the UE group, a policy that should be adopted by each UE in the UE group; When the PCF network element group used to serve the UE group includes other PCF network elements other than the PCF network element, the processing module is specifically configured to: Determine a policy for the UE served by the PCF network element and determine a policy request for other UEs in the UE group except the UE served by the PCF network element according to the policy request and pre-stored group policy information; Obtaining respective identification information of PCF network elements serving the other UEs; and sending, according to the respective identification information of the PCF network elements serving the other UEs, policy requests of the UEs respectively served by them to the PCF network elements serving the other UEs, to instruct the PCF network elements serving the other UEs to determine policies for their respectively served UEs according to the policy requests of the respectively served UEs and the pre-stored group policy information; or, Determining a policy for the UE served by the PCF network element based on the policy request and pre-stored group policy information; Obtaining respective identification information of PCF network elements serving other UEs in the UE group except the UE served by the PCF network element; and According to the respective identification information of the PCF network elements serving the other UEs, the policy requests are respectively sent to the PCF network elements serving the other UEs to instruct the PCF network elements serving the other UEs to determine the policy requests of the UEs they respectively serve according to the policy requests, and determine the policies for the UEs they respectively serve according to the policy requests of the UEs they respectively serve and the pre-stored group policy information.

12. A policy coordination device for a user equipment (UE) group, characterized in that: The device is applied to an application function AF network element, and the device includes: a communication module configured to send a policy request to a policy control function PCF network element serving the AF network element, wherein the policy request is related to the group policy for the UE group and instructs the PCF network element to perform policy coordination for the UE group according to the policy request and pre-stored group policy information, wherein the pre-stored group policy information indicates, for various group policies of the UE group, a policy to be adopted by each UE in the UE group; When the PCF network element group used to serve the UE group includes other PCF network elements other than the PCF network element, the performing policy coordination on the UE group according to the policy request and the pre-stored group policy information includes: Determine a policy for the UE served by the PCF network element and determine a policy request for other UEs in the UE group except the UE served by the PCF network element based on the policy request and pre-stored group policy information; Obtaining respective identification information of PCF network elements serving the other UEs; and sending, according to the respective identification information of the PCF network elements serving the other UEs, policy requests of the UEs respectively served by them to the PCF network elements serving the other UEs, to instruct the PCF network elements serving the other UEs to determine policies for their respectively served UEs according to the policy requests of the respectively served UEs and the pre-stored group policy information; or, Determining a policy for the UE served by the PCF network element based on the policy request and pre-stored group policy information; Obtaining respective identification information of PCF network elements serving other UEs in the UE group except the UE served by the PCF network element; and According to the respective identification information of the PCF network elements serving the other UEs, the policy requests are respectively sent to the PCF network elements serving the other UEs to instruct the PCF network elements serving the other UEs to determine the policy requests of the UEs they respectively serve according to the policy requests, and determine the policies for the UEs they respectively serve according to the policy requests of the UEs they respectively serve and the pre-stored group policy information.

13. A communication device, wherein: include: transceiver; Memory; A processor is connected to the transceiver and the memory, respectively, and is configured to control the wireless signal reception and transmission of the transceiver by executing computer-executable instructions on the memory, and is capable of implementing the method described in any one of claims 1-6, or 7 to 10.

14. A computer storage medium, wherein: The computer storage medium stores computer-executable instructions; after the computer-executable instructions are executed by the processor, the method described in any one of claims 1 to 6, or 7 to 10 can be implemented.

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