User session state management method and apparatus, electronic device, and storage medium

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a user session state management method and device, electronic equipment and computer readable storage medium, and relates to the technical field of wireless communication and terminal. The method comprises the following steps: a PCF receives a group update message sent by an SMF, the group update message comprising a group identifier, an online user identifier, session establishment or deletion information, the same group online users are associated according to the group update message, the group update message is sent to the online users in the group, so that the online users update the user state in the group according to the group update message. The embodiment of the present disclosure can enhance the autonomous management ability of the user's group communication.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to the fields of wireless communication and terminal technology, and in particular to a user session state management method, apparatus, electronic device, and computer-readable storage medium. Background Technology

[0002] Operators provide LAN services for vertical industries such as industrial internet, enterprise offices, and home environments. Customers can customize communication groups according to their actual needs. User terminals within a group can communicate with each other in a point-to-point or point-to-multipoint manner, including Ethernet and IP communication.

[0003] However, users within a group cannot know the status information of other users in the current group, such as which users are online. When a group user initiates a multicast or broadcast session, it is impossible to know whether all users in the current group can receive its multicast or broadcast data packets, which is not conducive to users' group communication management.

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

[0005] This disclosure provides a user session state management method, apparatus, electronic device, and computer-readable storage medium, which at least to some extent overcomes the problem in the related art that users cannot perform group communication management.

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

[0007] According to one aspect of this disclosure, a user session state management method is provided, applied to a policy control function (PCF), comprising:

[0008] Receive group update messages sent by the Session Management Function (SMF), wherein the group update messages include: group identifier, online user identifier, and session creation or deletion information;

[0009] Associate online users in the same group based on the group update message;

[0010] The group update message is sent to online users within the group so that the online users can update their status within the group based on the group update message.

[0011] In one embodiment of this disclosure, it further includes:

[0012] When a user initiates a session establishment request, the user receives the identifiers of other online users in the group.

[0013] In one embodiment of this disclosure, when a user initiates a session establishment request, the user receiving identifiers of other online users within the group includes:

[0014] When a user initiates a session establishment request, the PCF sends the identifiers of other online users in the group to the Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) via the SMF;

[0015] The user receives other online user identifiers sent by the AMF.

[0016] In one embodiment of this disclosure, sending a group update message to online users within the group, so that the online users update their status within the group based on the group update message, includes:

[0017] PCF sends the group update message to AMF accessed by online users via SMF;

[0018] The AMF sends the group update message to the online user;

[0019] The online user updates the user status within the group based on the group update message.

[0020] In one embodiment of this disclosure, the PCF sending the group update message to the AMF accessed by online users via the SMF includes:

[0021] The home PCF will send the group update message to the visited PCF;

[0022] The visited PCF sends the group update message to the AMF accessed by the online user via the SMF.

[0023] In one embodiment of this disclosure, receiving the group update message sent by the SMF includes:

[0024] The visited PCF receives the group update message sent by the SMF;

[0025] The visited PCF determines whether the group is a local group;

[0026] If not, the group update message will be sent to the PCF (Placement Control Center) corresponding to the group.

[0027] The method of associating online users in the same group based on the group update message includes:

[0028] The home location PCF associates online users in the same group based on the group update message.

[0029] In one embodiment of this disclosure, the session establishment or deletion information includes: the user identifier for establishing or deleting the session, and the corresponding session information.

[0030] According to another aspect of this disclosure, a user session state management apparatus is also provided, comprising:

[0031] The group update message receiving module receives group update messages sent by the session management function (SMF), wherein the group update message includes: group identifier, online user identifier, and session establishment or deletion information;

[0032] The group online user association module associates online users in the same group based on the group update message.

[0033] The group update message sending module sends the group update message to online users in the group, so that the online users can update the status of users in the group according to the group update message.

[0034] According to another aspect of this disclosure, an electronic device is also provided, comprising: a processor; and a memory for storing executable instructions of the processor; wherein the processor is configured to perform any of the above-described user session state management methods by executing the executable instructions.

[0035] According to another aspect of this disclosure, a computer-readable storage medium is also provided, on which a computer program is stored, which, when executed by a processor, implements the user session state management method described in any of the preceding claims.

[0036] The user session state management method, apparatus, electronic device, and computer-readable storage medium provided in the embodiments of this disclosure include: PCF receiving group update messages sent by SMF, the group update message including: group identifier, online user identifier, session establishment or deletion information; associating online users in the same group according to the group update message; and sending group update messages to online users in the group so that online users can update the user status in the group according to the group update message, thereby enhancing the user's self-management capability of group communication.

[0037] It should be understood that the above general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only, and are not intended to limit this disclosure. Attached Figure Description

[0038] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and form part of this specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with this disclosure and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of this disclosure. It is obvious that the drawings described below are merely some embodiments of this disclosure, and those skilled in the art can obtain other drawings based on these drawings without any inventive effort.

[0039] Figure 1 This diagram illustrates a user session state management method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0040] Figure 2 This diagram illustrates a flowchart of an online user identifier receiving method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0041] Figure 3 This diagram illustrates a flowchart of a group update message sending method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0042] Figure 4 This diagram illustrates a flowchart of a non-local group update message sending method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0043] Figure 5 This diagram illustrates a user session state management device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0044] Figure 6 This diagram illustrates a flowchart of yet another user session state management method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0045] Figure 7 This illustration shows a flowchart of another user session state management method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; and

[0046] Figure 8 A structural block diagram of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Detailed Implementation

[0047] Exemplary embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, these exemplary embodiments can be implemented in many forms and should not be construed as limited to the examples set forth herein; rather, they are provided so that this disclosure will be more comprehensive and complete, and will fully convey the concept of the exemplary embodiments to those skilled in the art. The described features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments.

[0048] Furthermore, the accompanying drawings are merely illustrative of this disclosure and are not necessarily drawn to scale. The same reference numerals in the drawings denote the same or similar parts, and therefore repeated descriptions of them will be omitted. Some block diagrams shown in the drawings are functional entities and do not necessarily correspond to physically or logically independent entities. These functional entities may be implemented in software, in one or more hardware modules or integrated circuits, or in different network and / or processor devices and / or microcontroller devices.

[0049] The solution disclosed herein can be used by operators to provide 5G LAN services for vertical industries such as industrial internet, enterprise office, and home environments, and to provide enterprises with the function of subscribing to the online status of 5G LAN group users.

[0050] To facilitate understanding, the following is an explanation of several terms used in this disclosure:

[0051] PCF (Policy Control Function) is a unified policy framework that provides policy rules for control plane functions, including policies related to all mobility, user terminal access selection, and PDU (Protocol Data Unit) sessions under its responsibility.

[0052] The SMF (Session Management function) is responsible for tunnel maintenance, IP address allocation and management, UPF (User Plane Function) selection, policy enforcement, and QoS (Quality of Service) control, billing data collection, roaming, etc.

[0053] The AMF (Access and Mobility Management Function) performs registration, connection, reachability, and mobility management. It provides a session management message transmission channel for the UE and SMF, and offers authentication and authorization functions for user access. It is the core network control plane access point for the terminal and radio.

[0054] NAS (Non-Access Stratum) refers to the functions that operate between the core network and the terminal.

[0055] A LAN (Local Area Network, 5G LAN) is a network consisting of one or more routers or switches connected to multiple computers, or a network consisting of two or more computers directly. LANs can provide functions such as file management, application software sharing, printer sharing, workgroup scheduling, email and fax communication services.

[0056] The following detailed description of this exemplary implementation method is provided in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0057] First, this disclosure provides a user session state management method, which can be executed by any electronic device with computing power.

[0058] Figure 1This diagram illustrates a user session state management method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, such as... Figure 1 As shown in the embodiments of this disclosure, the user session state management method is applied to the policy control function (PCF) and includes the following steps:

[0059] S102, Receive group update message sent by the session management function SMF.

[0060] It should be noted that the PCF (Policy Control Function) provides policy rules for control plane functions.

[0061] It should be noted that SMF (Session Management function) is responsible for tunnel maintenance, IP address allocation and management, etc.

[0062] In one embodiment, group update messages include, but are not limited to: group identifier, online user identifier, and session creation or deletion information;

[0063] In one embodiment, the group update message includes, but is not limited to, the 5G LAN group update request message.

[0064] It should be noted that a LAN (Local Area Network, 5G LAN) is a network consisting of one or more routers or switches connected to multiple computers, or a network consisting of two or more computers directly.

[0065] In one embodiment, the session establishment or deletion information includes the user identifier that initiated the session establishment or deletion request, the corresponding session message, and the time when the session establishment or deletion request was initiated.

[0066] S104, Associate online users in the same group based on group update messages;

[0067] In one embodiment, PCF associates users who are already online in the same group with the group identifier and the online user identifier.

[0068] S106, Send a group update message to online users in the group so that online users can update the status of users in the group according to the group update message.

[0069] In one embodiment, the PCF sends group update messages to the AMF accessed by online users via the SMF; the AMF sends group update messages to online users; and online users update the user status within the group based on the group update messages.

[0070] It should be noted that the AMF (Access and Mobility Management Function) performs registration, connection, accessibility, and mobility management.

[0071] In the above embodiments, the PCF associates other online users in the same group with the group identifier and user information carried in the message. The PCF sends a group update notification message to each online user in the group, which enhances the user's self-management capability of group communication, enhances the operator's and enterprise customer's control capability over the group, and enables the operator and enterprise user to manage communication based on the group update notification message.

[0072] Figure 2 This diagram illustrates a flowchart of an online user identifier receiving method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, such as... Figure 2 As shown in the embodiments of this disclosure, the online user identifier receiving method includes the following steps:

[0073] S202, The user initiates a session establishment request;

[0074] S204, PCF sends the identifiers of other online users in the group to the Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) via SMF;

[0075] In one embodiment, the PCF receives a group update message sent by the SMF and sends a response message to the AMF via the SMF.

[0076] In one embodiment, the response message includes, but is not limited to: group user status information; the group user status information includes, but is not limited to: other online user identifiers.

[0077] S206, AMF sends other online user identifiers to the user.

[0078] In one embodiment, the AMF sends group user status information to the user who initiated the session establishment request via a NAS message.

[0079] It should be noted that NAS (Non-Access Stratum) refers to the functions that operate between the core network and the terminal.

[0080] S208, the user completes the session establishment process.

[0081] In the above embodiments, the PCF sends the identifiers of other online users in the group to the user who initiated the session establishment request via the SMF and AMF. The user can know which users are offline when he / she initiates a multicast or broadcast session based on the group user status information. When he / she receives a notification message that another user is online, he / she can choose to resend the data packet to that user via unicast, thereby enhancing the user's self-management capability of group communication.

[0082] Figure 3 This diagram illustrates a flowchart of a group update message sending method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, such as... Figure 3 As shown in the embodiments of this disclosure, the method for sending group update messages includes the following steps:

[0083] S302, PCF sends group update messages to AMF accessed by online users via SMF;

[0084] In one embodiment, the home PCF sends a group update message to the visited PCF, and the visited PCF sends a response message to the group update message to the online user access AMF via the SMF.

[0085] S304, AMF sends group update messages to online users;

[0086] S306, online users update the status of users in the group based on group update messages.

[0087] In the above embodiments, PCF notifies other online users in the group through SMF and AMF based on the online status update messages reported by group users, thereby enhancing users' self-management capabilities for group communication and enabling enterprise users to manage communication based on group update messages.

[0088] Figure 4 This diagram illustrates a flowchart of a non-local group update message sending method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, such as... Figure 4 As shown in the embodiments of this disclosure, the method for sending non-local group update messages includes the following steps:

[0089] S402, The visited PCF receives a group update message sent by the SMF;

[0090] S404, the visited PCF determines whether the group is a local group;

[0091] S406, If not, send the group update message to the PCF corresponding to the group's home location;

[0092] S408, the home PCF associates online users in the same group based on group update messages.

[0093] In one embodiment, the home PCF sends a response to the group update message to the visited PCF, and the visited PCF sends the response to the SMF.

[0094] S410, the home PCF simultaneously sends a group update notification message to each online user in the group.

[0095] In one embodiment, since user B is in the visited location, the home PCF sends a group update message to the visited PCF, the visited PCF sends a group update notification message to the SMF, and the SMF sends a group update notification message to the AMF where the online user registered for access.

[0096] In one embodiment, the AMF sends group update notification messages to other online users via NAS messages.

[0097] S412, online users update the user status within the group for subsequent UE-side group communication session management, such as recording users who are offline when initiating a multicast or broadcast session. When a notification message is received that the user is online, the system can choose to resend the data packet to the user via unicast.

[0098] In the above embodiments, the home PCF associates online users in the same group based on the group update message, and forwards the group update message to each online user in the group through interaction between the visited PCF and the home PCF, thereby enhancing the operator's and enterprise customers' control over the group and enabling operators and enterprise users to manage communication based on the group update notification message.

[0099] Based on the same inventive concept, this disclosure also provides a user session state management device, as described in the following embodiments. Since the principle by which this device solves the problem is similar to that of the method embodiments described above, the implementation of this device embodiment can refer to the implementation of the method embodiments described above, and repeated details will not be repeated.

[0100] Figure 5 This diagram illustrates a user session state management device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, such as... Figure 5 As shown, the user session state management device 5 includes: a group update message receiving module 501, a group online user association module 502, and a group update message sending module 503;

[0101] The group update message receiving module 501 receives group update messages sent by the session management function SMF. The group update messages include: group identifier, online user identifier, and session establishment or deletion information.

[0102] The group online user association module 502 associates online users in the same group based on group update messages.

[0103] The group update message sending module 503 sends group update messages to online users in the group so that online users can update the status of users in the group according to the group update messages.

[0104] In the above embodiments, PCF associates other online users in the same group with the group identifier and user information carried in the message. PCF then sends a group update notification message to each online user in the group, thereby enhancing the user's ability to manage group communication autonomously.

[0105] Figure 6 This illustration shows a flowchart of yet another user session state management method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, such as... Figure 6 As shown in the embodiments of this disclosure, the user session state management method includes the following steps:

[0106] S602, User A initiates a 5G LAN session establishment or deletion request;

[0107] S604, SMF sends a 5G LAN group update request message to PCF.

[0108] It should be noted that 5G LAN group update request messages include, but are not limited to, 5G LAN session establishment or deletion information.

[0109] S606, PCF associates other online users within the same VN group with the group identifier and user information carried in the 5G LAN group update request message.

[0110] In one embodiment, user information includes, but is not limited to, user status information, which may be an online user identifier or an offline user identifier, etc.

[0111] It should be noted that 5G LAN will divide users into different VN groups, and users from different operators can also be grouped into the same VN group. Users within a VN group can achieve point-to-point communication as well as broadcast and multicast. Group isolation can be achieved between different groups, meaning that users belonging to different groups cannot communicate with each other, thereby ensuring user communication security.

[0112] In one embodiment, when user A initiates a 5G LAN session establishment request, the PCF sends the identifiers of other online users in the VN group to user A via the SMF and AMF.

[0113] S608, PCF sends 5G LAN group update notification messages to each online user in the VN group via SMF and AMF.

[0114] In one embodiment, the PCF sends a 5G LAN group update notification message to the SMF, the SMF sends the 5G LAN group update notification message to the AMF, and the AMF sends the 5G LAN group update notification message to other online users.

[0115] In one embodiment, the AMF sends the 5G LAN group update notification message to other online users in the VN group, such as online user B, via NAS messages.

[0116] S610, User B updates the user status within the VN group for subsequent UE-side group communication session management;

[0117] S612, if user A comes online, PCF will send the identifiers of other online users in the VN group to user A through SMF and AMF;

[0118] S614, AMF sends the identifiers of other online users in the 5G LAN group to user A via NAS messages.

[0119] In the above embodiments, the PCF associates other online users within the same VN group with the group identifier and user information carried in the 5G LAN group update notification message. The PCF sends a 5G LAN group update notification message to each online user in the VN group, and the AMF sends the 5G LAN group update notification message to other users in the VN group via NAS messages. This enhances the operator's and enterprise customers' control over the 5G LAN group, expands the multi-dimensional billing capabilities of 5G LAN, and enables operators and enterprise users to manage communication based on the 5G LAN group update notification message. For example, a 5G LAN user can know which users are offline when they initiate a multicast or broadcast session based on the VN group user status information. When a user comes online, the user can choose to resend data packets to that user via unicast.

[0120] Figure 7 This illustration shows a flowchart of another user session state management method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, such as... Figure 7 As shown in the embodiments of this disclosure, the user session state management method includes the following steps:

[0121] S702, Enterprise's 5G VN group in home network PCF subscribed group session management function;

[0122] S704, UE B has completed the 5G LAN session establishment process;

[0123] S706, UE A initiates a 5G LAN session establishment or deletion request;

[0124] S708, the SMF sends a 5G LAN group update request message to the visited vPCF;

[0125] S710, vPCF determines that it is a non-local 5G VN group and forwards the 5G LAN group update request message to the hPCF where the VN group is located;

[0126] S712, hPCF associates other online users within the same VN group with the group identifier and user information carried in the 5G LAN group update request message.

[0127] It should be noted that other users already online include user B.

[0128] S714, hPCF sends a 5G LAN group update request response to vPCF; vPCF sends the response message to AMF via SMF.

[0129] In one embodiment, if user A is making a session request and the response message contains identifiers of other online users in the group, the SMF will send the response message to the AMF.

[0130] S716, AMF sends the 5G LAN group user status included in the response message to user A via NAS message.

[0131] In one embodiment, the user status of a 5G LAN group includes identifiers of other online users in the group, etc.

[0132] S718, UE A completes the 5G LAN session establishment or deletion process.

[0133] In S720, following S712, hPCF simultaneously sends a 5G LAN group update notification message to each online user in the VN group. Since user B is in the visited location, hPCF sends the group update notification message to vPCF, vPCF sends the 5G LAN group update notification message to SMF, and SMF sends the 5G LAN group update notification message to the AMF that user B registered with.

[0134] In one embodiment, the 5G LAN group update notification message includes, but is not limited to: group identifier, user A identifier and online / offline indication, user B identifier, etc.

[0135] S722, AMF sends 5G LAN group update notification messages to user B via NAS messages;

[0136] S724, User B updates the user status within the VN group for subsequent UE-side group communication session management. For example, it records users who are offline when it initiates a multicast or broadcast session. When it receives a notification message that the user is online, it can choose to resend the data packet to the user via unicast.

[0137] In one embodiment, the network used as a medium to provide a communication link between the UE and the server can be a wired network or a wireless network.

[0138] Optionally, the aforementioned wireless or wired networks use standard communication technologies and / or protocols. The network is typically the Internet, but can also be any network, including but not limited to Local Area Networks (LANs), Metropolitan Area Networks (MANs), Wide Area Networks (WANs), mobile, wired or wireless networks, private networks, or any combination of virtual private networks. In some embodiments, technologies and / or formats including Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML), Extensible Markup Language (XML), etc., are used to represent data exchanged over the network. Furthermore, conventional encryption technologies such as Secure Socket Layer (SSL), Transport Layer Security (TLS), Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), and Internet Protocol Security (IPsec) can be used to encrypt all or some links. In other embodiments, custom and / or dedicated data communication technologies can be used to replace or supplement the aforementioned data communication technologies.

[0139] UE can be various electronic devices, including but not limited to smartphones, tablets, laptops, desktop computers, wearable devices, augmented reality devices, virtual reality devices, etc.

[0140] Optionally, the client for the application installed on different UEs can be the same, or the client for the same type of application based on different operating systems. Depending on the terminal platform, the specific form of the application client can also differ; for example, the application client can be a mobile client, a PC client, etc.

[0141] A server can be a server that provides various services, such as a backend management server that supports the devices operated by users using the UE. The backend management server can analyze and process received data such as requests, and then feed the processing results back to the UE.

[0142] Optionally, the server can be a standalone physical server, a server cluster or distributed system composed of multiple physical servers, or a cloud server providing basic cloud computing services such as cloud services, cloud databases, cloud computing, cloud functions, cloud storage, network services, cloud communication, middleware services, domain name services, security services, CDN (Content Delivery Network), and big data and artificial intelligence platforms. The terminal can be a smartphone, tablet, laptop, desktop computer, smart speaker, smartwatch, etc., but is not limited to these. The terminal and server can be directly or indirectly connected via wired or wireless communication, which is not limited herein.

[0143] Those skilled in the art will understand that the number of UEs, networks, and servers is merely illustrative, and any number of UEs, networks, and servers can be used as needed. This disclosure does not limit the number of UEs, networks, and servers.

[0144] In the above embodiments, the 5G LAN terminal can obtain VN group status information from the 5G core network, enhancing the group communication self-management capability of 5G LAN users. For example, based on the VN group user status information, 5G LAN users can know which users are offline when they initiate a multicast or broadcast session. When they receive a notification message that a user is online, they can choose to resend data packets to that user via unicast.

[0145] Those skilled in the art will understand that various aspects of this disclosure can be implemented as a system, method, or program product. Therefore, various aspects of this disclosure can be specifically implemented in the following forms: a completely hardware implementation, a completely software implementation (including firmware, microcode, etc.), or a combination of hardware and software aspects, collectively referred to herein as a "circuit," "module," or "system."

[0146] The following reference Figure 8 To describe an electronic device 800 according to such an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 8 The electronic device 800 shown is merely an example and should not impose any limitation on the functionality and scope of use of the embodiments disclosed herein.

[0147] like Figure 8 As shown, the electronic device 800 is manifested in the form of a general-purpose computing device. The components of the electronic device 800 may include, but are not limited to: at least one processing unit 810, at least one storage unit 820, and a bus 830 connecting different system components (including storage unit 820 and processing unit 810).

[0148] The storage unit stores program code that can be executed by the processing unit 810, causing the processing unit 810 to perform the steps described in the "Exemplary Methods" section above according to various exemplary embodiments of this disclosure.

[0149] For example, the processing unit 810 may perform the following steps in the above method embodiment: receiving a group update message sent by the session management function (SMF); associating online users in the same group according to the group update message; and sending the group update message to online users in the group so that online users can update the status of users in the group according to the group update message.

[0150] For example, the processing unit 810 can execute the following steps of the above method embodiment: the user initiates a session establishment request; the PCF sends the identifiers of other online users in the group to the Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) through the SMF; the AMF sends the identifiers of other online users to the user; and the user completes the session establishment process.

[0151] For example, the processing unit 810 can execute the following steps of the above method embodiment: When user A initiates a 5G LAN session establishment or deletion request; the SMF sends a 5G LAN group update request message to the PCF; the PCF associates other online users in the same VN group with the group identifier and user information carried in the 5G LAN group update request message; the PCF sends a 5G LAN group update notification message to each online user in the VN group through the SMF and AMF respectively; user B updates the user status in the VN group for subsequent UE-side group communication session management; if user A goes online, the PCF sends the identifiers of other online users in the VN group to user A through the SMF and AMF; the AMF sends the identifiers of other online users in the 5G LAN group to user A through a NAS message.

[0152] Storage unit 820 may include a readable medium in the form of a volatile storage unit, such as random access memory (RAM) 8201 and / or cache memory 8202, and may further include a read-only memory (ROM) 8203.

[0153] The storage unit 820 may also include a program / utility 8204 having a set (at least one) of program modules 8205, including but not limited to: an operating system, one or more application programs, other program modules, and program data, each or some combination of these examples may include an implementation of a network environment.

[0154] Bus 830 can represent one or more of several types of bus structures, including a memory cell bus or memory cell controller, a peripheral bus, a graphics acceleration port, a processing unit, or a local bus using any of the various bus structures.

[0155] Electronic device 800 can also communicate with one or more external devices 840 (e.g., keyboard, pointing device, Bluetooth device, etc.), and with one or more devices that enable a user to interact with electronic device 800, and / or with any device that enables electronic device 800 to communicate with one or more other computing devices (e.g., router, modem, etc.). Such communication can be performed through input / output (I / O) interface 850.

[0156] Furthermore, the electronic device 800 can also communicate with one or more networks (e.g., local area networks (LANs), wide area networks (WANs), and / or public networks, such as the Internet) via network adapter 860. As shown in the figure, network adapter 860 communicates with other modules of the electronic device 800 via bus 830. It should be understood that, although not shown in the figure, other hardware and / or software modules can be used in conjunction with the electronic device 800, including but not limited to: microcode, device drivers, redundant processing units, external disk drive arrays, RAID systems, tape drives, and data backup storage systems.

[0157] From the above description of the embodiments, those skilled in the art will readily understand that the exemplary embodiments described herein can be implemented by software or by combining software with necessary hardware. Therefore, the technical solutions according to the embodiments of this disclosure can be embodied in the form of a software product, which can be stored in a non-volatile storage medium (such as a CD-ROM, USB flash drive, external hard drive, etc.) or on a network, including several instructions to cause a computing device (such as a personal computer, server, terminal device, or network device, etc.) to execute the methods according to the embodiments of this disclosure.

[0158] In exemplary embodiments of this disclosure, a computer-readable storage medium is also provided, which may be a readable signal medium or a readable storage medium. A program product capable of implementing the methods described above is stored thereon. In some possible implementations, various aspects of this disclosure may also be implemented as a program product including program code that, when run on a UE, causes the UE to perform the steps described in the "Exemplary Methods" section of this specification according to various exemplary embodiments of this disclosure.

[0159] For example, when the program product in this embodiment is executed by the processor, it implements the following steps: the PCF sends a group update message to the AMF accessed by online users through the SMF; the AMF sends the group update message to the online users; and the online users update the user status within the group according to the group update message.

[0160] For example, when the program product in this embodiment is executed by the processor, it implements the following steps: the enterprise's 5G VN group subscribes to the group session management function in the home network PCF; UE B has completed the 5G LAN session establishment process; UE A initiates a 5G LAN session establishment or deletion request; SMF sends a 5G LAN group update request message to the visited vPCF; vPCF determines that it is a non-local 5G VN group and forwards the 5G LAN group update request message to the VN group's home hPCF; hPCF associates other online users in the same VN group based on the group identifier and user information carried in the 5G LAN group update request message; hPCF sends a 5G LAN group update request response to vPCF; vPCF sends the response message to SMF; if user A is requesting to establish a session, the response message contains the identifiers of other online users in the group, SMF sends the information to AMF, and AMF sends the 5G LAN group user status to user A through NAS messages; UE A completes the 5G LAN session establishment or deletion process.

[0161] Simultaneously, the hPCF sends a 5G LAN group update notification message to each online user within the VN group. Since user B is in the visited location, the hPCF sends the group update notification message to the vPCF, which then sends the 5G LAN group update notification message to the SMF. The SMF then sends the 5G LAN group update notification message to the AMF that user B registered with. The AMF sends the 5G LAN group update notification message to user B via a NAS message. User B updates the user status within the VN group for subsequent UE-side group communication session management, such as recording users who are offline when initiating multicast or broadcast sessions. When a notification message is received that a user is online, the user can choose to retransmit data packets to that user via unicast.

[0162] More specific examples of computer-readable storage media in this disclosure may include, but are not limited to: electrical connections having one or more wires, portable computer disks, hard disks, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), optical fiber, portable compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), optical storage devices, magnetic storage devices, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

[0163] In this disclosure, a computer-readable storage medium may include a data signal propagated in baseband or as part of a carrier wave, carrying readable program code. Such propagated data signals may take various forms, including but not limited to electromagnetic signals, optical signals, or any suitable combination thereof. A readable signal medium may also be any readable medium other than a readable storage medium, capable of transmitting, propagating, or transmitting a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

[0164] Optionally, the program code contained on the computer-readable storage medium may be transmitted using any suitable medium, including but not limited to wireless, wired, optical fiber, RF, etc., or any suitable combination thereof.

[0165] In practical implementation, program code for performing the operations of this disclosure can be written using any combination of one or more programming languages, including object-oriented programming languages ​​such as Java and C++, and conventional procedural programming languages ​​such as C or similar languages. The program code can be executed entirely on the user's computing device, partially on the user's computing device, as a standalone software package, partially on the user's computing device and partially on a remote computing device, or entirely on a remote computing device or server.

[0166] In cases involving remote computing devices, the remote computing devices can be connected to user computing devices via any type of network, including local area networks (LANs) or wide area networks (WANs), or they can be connected to external computing devices (e.g., via the Internet using an Internet service provider).

[0167] It should be noted that although several modules or units for the device used to perform actions have been mentioned in the detailed description above, this division is not mandatory. In fact, according to embodiments of this disclosure, the features and functions of two or more modules or units described above can be embodied in one module or unit. Conversely, the features and functions of one module or unit described above can be further divided and embodied by multiple modules or units.

[0168] Furthermore, although the steps of the method in this disclosure are described in a specific order in the accompanying drawings, this does not require or imply that the steps must be performed in that specific order, or that all the steps shown must be performed to achieve the desired result. Additional or alternative steps may be omitted, multiple steps may be combined into one step, and / or a step may be broken down into multiple steps.

[0169] From the above description of the embodiments, those skilled in the art will readily understand that the exemplary embodiments described herein can be implemented by software or by combining software with necessary hardware. Therefore, the technical solutions according to the embodiments of this disclosure can be embodied in the form of a software product, which can be stored in a non-volatile storage medium (such as a CD-ROM, USB flash drive, external hard drive, etc.) or on a network, including several instructions to cause a computing device (such as a personal computer, server, mobile terminal, or network device, etc.) to execute the methods according to the embodiments of this disclosure.

[0170] Other embodiments of this disclosure will readily occur to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the specification and practice of the invention disclosed herein. This disclosure is intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of this disclosure that follow the general principles of this disclosure and include common knowledge or customary techniques in the art not disclosed herein. The specification and examples are to be considered exemplary only, and the true scope and spirit of this disclosure are indicated by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A user session state management method, characterized in that, Applied to policy control functions (PCF), including: Receive group update messages sent by the Session Management Function (SMF), wherein the group update messages include: group identifier, online user identifier, and session creation or deletion information; Associate online users in the same group based on the group update message; Send the group update message to online users in the group so that the online users can update the user status in the group according to the group update message; The step of sending a group update message to online users within the group, so that the online users can update the user status within the group according to the group update message, includes: the PCF sending the group update message to the AMF accessed by the online user through the SMF; the AMF sending the group update message to the online user; and the online user updating the user status within the group according to the group update message; wherein, the online user updating the user status within the group is used for subsequent UE-side group communication session management.

2. The user session state management method according to claim 1, characterized in that, Also includes: When a user initiates a session establishment request, the user receives the identifiers of other online users in the group.

3. The user session state management method according to claim 2, characterized in that, When a user initiates a session establishment request, the user receiving identifiers of other online users within the group includes: When a user initiates a session establishment request, the PCF sends the identifiers of other online users in the group to the Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) via the SMF; The user receives other online user identifiers sent by the AMF.

4. The user session state management method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The PCF sends the group update message to the AMF accessed by online users via the SMF, including: The home PCF will send the group update message to the visited PCF; The visited PCF sends the group update message to the AMF accessed by the online user via the SMF.

5. The user session state management method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The received group update message from SMF includes: The visited PCF receives the group update message sent by the SMF; The visited PCF determines whether the group is a local group; If not, the group update message will be sent to the PCF (Placement Control Center) corresponding to the group. The method of associating online users in the same group based on the group update message includes: The home location PCF associates online users in the same group based on the group update message.

6. The user session state management method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The session establishment or deletion information includes: the user identifier that establishes or deletes the session, and the corresponding session information.

7. A user session state management device, characterized in that, include: The group update message receiving module receives group update messages sent by the session management function (SMF), wherein the group update message includes: group identifier, online user identifier, and session establishment or deletion information; The group online user association module associates online users in the same group based on the group update message. The group update message sending module sends the group update message to online users within the group, so that the online users can update the user status within the group according to the group update message. This includes: the PCF sending the group update message to the AMF accessed by the online user via the SMF; the AMF sending the group update message to the online user; and the online user updating the user status within the group according to the group update message. The online user updating the user status within the group is used for subsequent UE-side group communication session management.

8. An electronic device, characterized in that, include: processor; as well as Memory for storing the executable instructions of the processor; The processor is configured to execute the user session state management method of any one of claims 1 to 6 by executing the executable instructions.

9. A computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, characterized in that, When the computer program is executed by the processor, it implements the user session state management method according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

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